


The Blood of the Gods

by Templarlady



Category: True Blood
Genre: F/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Romance, Sexual Content, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-27
Updated: 2014-05-10
Packaged: 2018-01-14 00:02:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 55,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1245259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Templarlady/pseuds/Templarlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bill and Alex return from Cairo and try to lead a quiet life. However, it appears that they have both been brought to the attention of beings more powerful than they imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

For a man who was born in the reign of the great Pharaoh Amenhotep III, the father of the heretic Akenaten, Rahotep was looking pretty good as he got out of the car provided by Anubis to bring him and Amina from the Airport. He was dressed casually in jeans and a T shirt and, without the kohl he sometimes used to line his eyes, you could pass him on the street and not notice anything unusual about him.

Bill and I had heard the car pull up outside the Mill House and gone outside to greet our guests. A broad smile crossed Rahotep's face as he leaned down to kiss my cheek. 

“Alex! I'm so glad to see you again!” He smiled down at me. “Ever since you left I've been expecting the Authority to contact me about the Library. I knew you'd light a fire under those stubborn, narrow-minded old fools” 

I laughed and put my arms around him, giving him a hug, and then Amina was out of the car and hugging me as well. Bill was standing back with a smile until Rahotep took his hand and pulled him forward so that Amina could give him a kiss. 

To my surprise two other people were getting out of the car behind them. A blond girl and a dark skinned man with a vivid tattoo on his cheek. Rafi and Louisa.  
Louisa came over to me and took my hands. 

“Alex! It's so good to see you again. I never really got the chance to apologise to you properly, what with everything that happened after we returned to Cairo. I was frightened and angry, I knew the human girl was your friend and I should never have attacked her like that. I underestimated you badly.”

I laughed. “Oh please don't apologise, I was only looking after Susie and I hope I didn't hurt you too badly!”

“Oh I recovered quickly enough don't worry!” she said.

I looked up to see Rafi's glittering black eyes on me. “I need to thank you too” he said. “I owe you my life. I would have met the true death on that island without your power.”

“I'm just glad that I was able to help, Rafi” I said, smiling at him.

He grinned at me and then glanced over at Bill. “Well, we flew over with Rahotep and Amina as the arrangements were made at the same time but we should be going now. We need to find a hotel in Oxford.” He took Louisa's hand and turned back to the Anubis car.

I glanced at Bill and he sighed quietly. “There's no need for that. You'd both be welcome to stay here, we have plenty of room. Alex and I have a suite in the cellar as does my daughter Azaria, when she bothers to come home that is! But all the upstairs rooms have light tight shutters now.”

Rafi looked back over his shoulder at Bill. “Are you sure? You don't have to do that you know. I know I behaved like an idiot on the boat but......well, your wife is a very attractive woman.”

I glanced at Louisa and saw a tiny smile curl on her lips. Obviously Rafi had told her about what had happened between the three of us.

“I promise to behave myself!” said Rafi with his usual mischievous grin. “We'll be doing touristy things mostly so we won't be under your feet all the time!”

A couple of Bill's security guards began to unload the luggage and bring it into the house. I took Amina's hand and led her up the steps and through the front door. Louisa followed us into the wide stoneflagged hallway.

“It's lovely to see you again!” I said to Amina. “You too Louisa. Do I understand that you and Rafi.........?”

She grinned at me. “I should hate you. I guess you must know that he has a big thing for you? Even before you saved his life!”

“Well yeah.......I know. Unfortunately Bill knows too!” I said resignedly.

“I must admit I was quite surprised that he invited us to stay” she said, looking around the hallway. “We only intend to stay a couple of days, as Rahotep and Amina were coming over it seemed like a good opportunity to tag along, but Rafi was convinced Bill wouldn't be very happy to see him.”

I smiled to myself. “Bill trusts me. He knows there's nothing between me and Rafi, never has been.” I knew he wasn't actually pleased to see Rafi but I guessed he was determined to show me that he was over his little jealousy kick.

Louisa watched me, considering. “I like Rafi a lot. He's got a fire in him, he just needs someone to keep him on the right path.”

“And that's you?” asked Amina doubtfully.

Louisa sighed “Look, I know you didn't see me at my best, but being dragged out of the ladies' room, wrapped in silver and slung into a cell really pissed me off, okay! I'm not usually that bad.....”

She wasn't actually. She had shown herself to be strong and capable during the escape from the lab and the subsequent fight by the river. And she had gone out of her way to protect and care for the injured Rafi.

I smiled at her. “Okay! We'll start again then shall we?”

Just as we came to this conclusion the two security guards came back down the stairs, having deposited the luggage in two of the guest rooms and Bill and Rahotep came in with Rafi following them.

We stayed a couple of days at the Mill House. Rahotep had come over to England to see the library and to attend a meeting of the High Council of the Authority but he and Amina were able to relax for a while with us. During his visit he dressed in modern clothing and it was only occasionally that I was reminded of his great age. One of these occasions was when he came into the barn when I was filling Titania's water trough. He leaned on the stable door watching me for a moment.

“She's a very beautiful animal” he said.

“Do you ride?” I asked, picking up the bucket and opening the stable door.

“No, I'm afraid not, very few Egyptians in my time rode horses” he answered, scratching Oberon behind the ears. “Now if you were to harness them to a chariot.......”

I had a mental image of a papyrus painting a friend had given me years ago, a copy of the wall painting of Ramesses the Great in his chariot at the Battle of Kadesh, taken from the walls of the temple at Abu Simbel. I could visualise Rahotep in such a chariot.

We went back inside and found Bill on the couch in the main lounge with his laptop open, checking his e-mail.

“Ah! There you are.” He said. “I've just got a message from Ulrich to say that the High Council is meeting on Saturday in London so we'd better make a move up to the apartment soon.”

We sat down opposite him just as Amina came down the stairs and joined us.

“How's everything in Cairo?” I asked. “Were there any problems after the announcement? Everything was overshadowed by the reception for the artefacts from the Temple of Sobek and then the kidnapping.”

“There hasn't been any trouble” answered Amina. “Which is what Theophanes was afraid of. In fact he's looking into starting a new nest in Alexandria. He's asked Rafi to make some enquiries hasn't he Rafi?”

She turned to Rafi and he smiled. “Yes. He says that he lived there for a while with his maker, a Roman named Gordianus, who claimed it was the most beautiful ancient city on the Mediterranean.”

Rahotep snorted. “Ha, that's Romans for you! They thought everything was ancient that came before their empire. Alexandria was a relatively modern city then. Only the old city of Rhakotis existed before Alexander's time. He created a brand new city to bear his name. Now Thebes and Memphis, they were ancient when the Greeks went to war against Troy.”

I watched Rahotep with a kind of wonder. I could hardly believe that I was in the presence of a man who had lived through the Trojan Wars........ I wondered if some day, in the far distant future, I would sit with a young vampire and say “Oh yes! I remember when men first landed on the moon and invented the internet, way back in the twentieth century!” and they would gaze at me in awe.

Then Bill winked at me and broke the spell.


	2. Chapter 2

There were definite disadvantages to being so much older than my wife. 

Being so young she naturally slept later than I did and I found myself lying beside her waiting for the setting sun to release her from her daytime sleep. Just occasionally, as on this night, her beauty overcame my naturally more gentlemanly instincts and I slid my hand over her flat stomach, spreading my fingers to cover as much of her silky skin as possible, hoping that my touch would wake her. She gave a little sigh and rolled onto her side, her breasts pressing against my chest, her soft mound brushing the tip of my erection. Almost without thinking I moved my hand down over her hip and onto her buttock and pulled her closer, my stiff manhood sliding into the gap between her thighs.

She gave a little moan, her face snuggled into the base of my neck and I felt my hips begin to move involuntarily, my stiffness sliding over her sex, working against her, parting her wet folds. She moaned again, her lips nuzzling blindly at my throat and I lost it completely. I rolled on top of her, sinking between her spread legs, my entire consciousness seeming to be concentrated in that part of me which was pressed heavily against her wetness. I got a grip on myself for a brief moment, intense arousal and equally intense guilt fighting to control my body as my hips pushed forwards, the tip of my aching manhood just parting her lips.

Her head fell back against the pillows, eyes still closed, as I felt for her through the bond. I closed my own eyes as I felt her arousal flood into me, washing away the guilt I felt for using her in her sleep. Her legs slid up my hips trying to work me inside her. I gritted my teeth in concentration as I pulled out a little and then pushed back in, feeling her wriggle and squirm under me, trying to get me in deeper.

“Bill......” I felt her breath brush my skin and leaned down to her, her intoxicating scent washing over me, stealing away my remaining will power. I pushed in slowly, stretching her, filling her, my manhood burrowing into her tight depths, making her gasp softly as I forced her sleeping body to accept me. I paused for a second, feeling as though I were wrapped in fire before pulling out and starting a slow rhythm. Her hands clutched blindly at me, fingernails digging into my flesh as her legs tightened around my hips. I began to move faster, filling every inch of her as her hips moved to meet me, accepting all I had to give her.

“Oh Bill......oh!” Her body shuddered with her release, her already tight walls constricting around me like a fist. I felt as though my whole body had been blasted apart as I exploded inside her, my hips still moving in an unconscious reflex until I collapsed, sated, crushing her body into the soft feather mattress beneath us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I woke slowly, sluggishly, feeling myself being pulled up from the darkness. I fought against it, wanting to remain in my dreaming state for a while longer. Every nerve in my body seemed to have fired off at once and I felt as though I was melting under the weight of Bill's body. I blinked. Wait a minute, I wasn't dreaming this was I? I opened my eyes to see Bill lying limp on top of me, his head resting on my shoulder. I could feel the long, lean muscles of his thighs against mine and realised with a surge of pleasure that he was still buried inside me. 

I placed my lips next to his ear. “Hmmm.......that's so much better than an alarm clock sweetie!” I whispered.

He raised his head and lifted himself up off me, bracing himself on his arms, his biceps bulging as they took his weight. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Better than okay.......much better!” I murmured.

“I wanted you so badly I couldn't wait for you to wake.....” he whispered guiltily. “I'm sorry.”

“Mmm......don't be, I'm not! But then.....you have been a very naughty boy and because you didn't wait for me to wake up, now you're just going to have to do it all over again!”

He pursed his lips in a cute little pout. “Must I?”

“Yes you absolutely must!”

He sighed. “Oh very well, if you insist!”

So he did. His arms braced on the mattress he shifted his hips and I felt him stiffening again inside me, moving gently, steel encased in silk. He leaned down and kissed me hungrily, his fangs pressing against my lips. Then he began to move his hips slowly and smoothly, keeping the same relaxed pace, completely ignoring my pleas, until he rolled over holding me tightly on top of him and began to kiss my shoulder, moving up to my neck where his smooth lips brushed my skin and his fangs slid effortlessly into my flesh. His mouth applied pressure and a glorious suction pulled at me, reaching down into the centre of my being, igniting a molten fire which seemed to flow out and set my whole body on fire.

I came to moments later to find myself sprawled over Bill, his hand on my back, holding me steady.

“............Well, we can't lie here forever!” I muttered.

“No? Why not?” asked Bill sleepily.

“For one thing, we have guests, remember? Also, this is a special day!” I grinned happily at him. “It's our wedding anniversary!”

“Oh yes, so it is!” he answered, sounding surprised. I was sure he was faking it and I jumped out of bed and ran over to my wardrobe. Underneath boxes of shoes where I was sure Bill would never venture was a large flat box containing his gift. I'd been planning this for a long time! I heaved up the heavy box and brought it over to the bed.

Bill sat up as I put the box down in front of him. It was wrapped in black and gold paper and tied up with a golden ribbon. “Happy Anniversary darling!” I said.

Bill stared at the box for a moment. “Oh sweetheart, you shouldn't have.......”

He untied the ribbon and carefully unwrapped it, lifting the lid and peering curiously inside. His brow creased in a little frown as he reached into the box and pulled out a layer of rustling tissue paper. I saw his face change as he realised what it was and he stood up and lifted out the long black leather coat, sheets of tissue sliding out onto the bed. He held it out in front of him and examined it, eyes gleaming.

I was really proud of it, I'd had it made specially for him. It was a military style greatcoat in a soft matt black leather and lined in dove grey silk, double breasted with a broad collar which could either lie flat or be buttoned up to the neck. The double rows of buttons were also matt black, Bill had never struck me as a shiny kind of guy, and ran down to the waist. He swung it around his shoulders and put it on. It came just halfway down his calves.

“Do you like it?” I asked, suddenly nervous that it might bring back bad memories of his time in the army. 

Bill was staring at his reflection in the full length mirror on the doors of the wardrobe with a huge smile on his face. “It's.......it's amazing.......it fits just perfectly.”

“I should hope so, I spent ages getting the measurements. It'll probably look better when you have some clothes on!” I said with a laugh.

He turned back to me and I realised that he hadn't done any of the buttons up. “On the other hand.......”

He came over and sat beside me on the bed. “I love it Alex, and I love you too.....”

I smiled with relief. “Oh good.......it's three years, that's leather, so......”

“Well.......I have something for you too, but I'm afraid it's not leather.....” He got up and went over to the wardrobe and reached up to the top shelf, the one I couldn't reach! He came back and handed me a long black velvet box. Jewellery! It was jewellery!

I curled up against the pile of pillows and opened the box. Inside, on a cream velvet pad, was a string of pearls. I gasped. My shock was not at the pearls themselves but the colour! They were a rich, deep black, the lustre shining with highlights of blue and purple as they caught the light. I picked them up, my mouth dropping open with surprise, and rubbed one gently across my front tooth. I could feel the slightly gritty, uneven surface which told me they were authentic.

“My God Bill! These are genuine black pearls” I whispered. “They must be worth a fortune! Look at the size of this one.......” The centre pearl was encased in a gold cage and hung down from the middle of the string. They were almost perfectly matched in colour just showing the slight differences which proved their natural origin and were graduated in size, the smallest at the back by the matching gold clasp. I glanced back at the box and saw a pair of matching earrings hooked over a separate velvet pad. For once I was completely lost for words. Bill was watching me, his expression slightly concerned. 

“I love them!” I said quickly and his expression cleared immediately to be replaced with a broad smile. “Wherever did you get them?”

“From that Jeweller in Cairo” he said. “As soon as I set eyes on them I knew they were meant for you. The colours reminded me of the highlights in your hair. I just had to have them. I admit that when he told me the price I nearly passed out, but you're worth it to me.....”

He leaned forward and kissed me. “Happy Anniversary darling!”

“Put them on for me?” I asked, handing him the pearls and turning my back to him. I felt his cool fingers lift my hair and fasten the clasp at the back of my neck. Then I felt his lips brush over the skin just under the clasp.

“They look perfect on you, just as I knew they would. I looked them up on the internet afterwards and discovered that the gift of black pearls symbolises eternal love. So they were perfect in more ways than one!” he murmured, lifting me up and pulling me onto his lap. 

He had climbed onto the bed and was kneeling, holding me on his thighs, the shimmering shot silk lining of the leather coat wrapped around both of us.

“You know that pearls are supposed to be for thirty years not three!”

“Ah well…..you’re such an exhilarating woman, you make me feel so alive that every year with you is like ten with anyone else! I’m sure we’ve packed in at least thirty years worth of excitement since we married.”

“Oh, smooth…….very smooth!” I wriggled forward and kissed him. 

He reached around me and grasped my buttocks, the cool leather sleeves pressing against my bare skin pulling me forward until my stomach was pressed against his and his steel hard shaft was once again buried between my thighs. I felt the muscles of his thighs and buttocks flexing as he wriggled, trying to ease himself back inside me.

“Bill!” I squeaked. “We've got guests, remember? Whatever will they think?”

“They'll think we're enjoying one another and find something else to do!” he breathed.

I remembered Amina's secretive little smile when she told me how Rahotep had made the perfume for her. Yes.......he was probably right!

 

That night, to celebrate our Anniversary, Bill had arranged a meal for us at a restaurant in Oxford which we knew and liked. We were quite a large party as Bill and I had also invited Claudia and Chris. Azaria and Dan joined us and Claudia asked if she could bring Jamie.

“Why of course!” said Bill as I glanced over at him, puzzled. “How is he getting on?”

“Jamie” he mouthed silently at me as he listened to her reply. “He would be most welcome to join us.”

Bill wore his new coat and I wore my pearls, both of which were universally admired.

I stood back for a moment and watched Bill, smiling at the centre of a circle of friends, both old and new. It was only then that I truly realised how much he had changed since we first met. Then he had been reserved, almost shy, worn down and weary with loneliness appearing to surround him like a cloak.

I smiled to myself as we made our way across the restaurant to the large circular table he had reserved in the bay window and we proceeded to enjoy a very pleasant evening. Amina and Louisa horrifying Claudia with tales of our captivity on the island and Jamie, who had matured into a self confident and happy young vampire under Claudia's wing, telling Rahotep and Rafi how Bill and I had found him prowling the canal towpaths alone and helpless.

The next night Rafi and Louisa left for the airport to return to Cairo and Bill and I drove Rahotep and Amina up to London for our meeting with the Authority.


	3. Chapter 3

Amina had never visited London before. 

Since Bill and I had two, two seater sports cars we had borrowed a pool car from the Authority and Bill drove while Amina and I sat in the back and I pointed out the shopping opportunities.

Apparently Rahotep had been to England once at the beginning of the reign of Henry VIII. The fame of the Golden Prince of the House of Tudor had spread over the known world and he had stayed just outside London during June 1509 and had come into the city on the night of 24th for the celebration of the coronation of Henry and his new bride Katherine, the daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille and the widow of his late brother Arthur.

He mentioned this as he spotted the lights around the Tower of London in the distance as we drove alongside the Thames. When we had settled in the apartment beneath the Authority’s Headquarters in Lombard Street Bill and I curled up on one of the sofas and listened, fascinated to his description of how the streets were decorated with hangings of velvet and cloth of gold. A special tournament was held that night followed by two days and nights of jousting and feasting. It was the end of an era and the beginning of a new age.

“The streets were packed with citizens celebrating the wedding and coronation” he said reminiscently. “It seemed that there was a whole roast oxen spitted on every crossroads with children and dogs fighting in the dust for scraps of the meat.”

“It must have been a wonderful sight!” I sighed, my head on Bill’s shoulder.

“Oh yes, much of it was” replied Rahotep. “But, as always, there was a darker side. Hundreds of people had come up from the country for the celebrations and they were not as wary as the native Londoners. I saw dozens of cutpurses working the crowds, slicing through the thongs that held a man’s purse to his belt and disappearing into the throng. But I did see Henry at one point!”

I sat up. “You actually saw Henry VIII?” I asked excitedly. “What did he look like?”

Rahotep smiled. “He was young then and handsome, well over six feet tall and strongly built. It was no wonder the people believed that they were entering a golden age with their handsome young king and his beautiful Spanish wife.”

The next evening we headed out of the apartment and through the Authority's headquarters to the enormous conference room. Rahotep had evidently decided that his authority would be enhanced by his great age and was dressed again in his long white linen robes with his eyes outlined in black kohl. Amina, not being a member of the High Council, was not invited and had decided to go shopping with Azaria and Susie. I thought I had detected a touch of nervousness in Rahotep's normally serene expression when he agreed to fund her shopping expedition. Evidently the thought of Amina loose in the west end with his credit card was of more concern to him than facing the High Council of the Vampire Authority! 

We were among the first to arrive and Bill motioned Ulrich to one side as the rest of the High Council members were arriving.

“Any news on Chevalier Pharmaceuticals?” he asked quietly.

“They made an enormous fuss about the destruction of their facility on the island, but only privately to us” he said. “We ignored them at first and then when they began to demand compensation we told them that we were going to go public with information about what was in the lab.”

Bill winced and looked at me. “I'm sure Alex would hate having to do that”.

“Yes, well she won't have to. We have no proof, since the lab was destroyed and Dr Malik is dead but just the idea that we might make the information public was enough to panic them into withdrawing all their complaints. They must know that we can't prove anything but just the fact that they paid Carlsson to kidnap female vampires, not to mention Susie, was sufficiently disastrous publicity for them.”

Ulrich gave an evil little smile. “They know we're onto them now. I have agents in Geneva, where the company is registered, looking into all their operations. They won't dare try something like this again.”

By this time all the Council members had arrived and were taking their seats and Ulrich moved to the head of the table and sat down beside Lilith who had come in from a chamber to the rear of the room.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we are meeting tonight at the request of Alexandra Compton, our Librarian, both to meet a colleague of hers and to consider a proposal which she wishes to make.” 

He turned to Rahotep who was seated next to me. “This is the Keeper of the great Library of Giza, Rahotep.”

The council members nodded politely and Rahotep gave a small, gracious smile. Ulrich introduced the council members and then dropped the bombshell.

“I understand that Alexandra believes it would be beneficial to open our Library to human scholars.” He smiled at me. “Isn't that right Alex?”

There was a shocked silence. “Beneficial to whom?” asked a dark haired vampire who I remembered as one of those who had supported Alberic. 

“Beneficial to all of us” I said calmly. “It will benefit humans as they will have access to the knowledge and information we have held for centuries, including works from the great Library of Alexandria which were thought to have been lost for ever. It is clearly the right thing to do and it will benefit us as we will be seen to be offering a great gift to them.”

“How does that help us?” he sneered.

I sighed. “Look, it may come as a surprise to you but a lot of humans, many of whom are in positions of authority, hate and fear vampires.”

“And so they should!” he replied. “It is only right that they should fear us!”

I saw several eyerolls from others around the table but Ulrich spoke up. “Thomasz, even you must realise that humans outnumber us greatly. It's all very well to say that we are individually stronger and more powerful than they are but I shouldn't have to explain to you that they have the great advantage of being able to move around during the day and in far greater numbers. We were vulnerable then even when they thought we were just myths, stories told to frighten children. Now that they know we are real do you seriously think that they're not trying to devise new weapons against us?”

He glanced over at Bill. “We've just recently had a demonstration of how some humans think of us and what they are prepared to do to us to gain an advantage. They're out there now.......vampire hunters! If we are ever to be safe we need to show that we are prepared to live alongside them in peace. We need to show them that we can help them, that we can bring something useful to society. This will be a good start.”

Tomasz turned to Rahotep. “Are we to understand that you agree with this proposal?” he asked incredulously.

Rahotep sat for a moment, waiting until all eyes were on him. Then he looked around at the members of the High Council.

“I should like to say first of all that I am honoured to be invited to address your Council. I suspect that I am probably one of the oldest among you, but I have never sought any kind of political power.

I have heard many arguments in my long life about the development of mankind and many theories about what exactly was the most important leap forward in our evolution. Was it the invention of the wheel? The domestication of animals, or perhaps the change from hunting to farming? When mankind developed agriculture and was able to settle in one place, this gave him time to think of other things, to develop a culture, to build.

I have always thought that the most important leap forward in man's development was when someone began to record what he was doing by making marks in clay. Counting his flocks, recording his possessions. In short, writing. The most brilliant of inventions could not spread through the population until people began to write about them. When I was young, I was sent to the Temple by my father to do the most important thing he could think of. To learn to read and to write.”

He paused and looked around at us. “I have spent most of my long existence collecting works for the Library for one reason only. Because I believe that the most important gift we can give to anyone is the gift of knowledge. And I do not believe that we have the right to withold that knowledge. We kept our existence a secret for millenia but now that it is known we must allow human scholars access to the Libraries, both mine and yours, because the knowledge in those books is not ours to keep. It belongs to all mankind.”

There was silence around the long conference table. Personally I wanted to give him a round of applause but I didn't think it would be appropriate. I gave him a smile instead as Ulrich cleared his throat.

“Well, I think that's a pretty unanswerable argument, don't you?” he asked.

Thomasz didn't look entirely convinced but he said nothing and everyone else seemed happy with the idea.

“So how, exactly do you propose to go about this?” asked Lydia doubtfully. “If we just invite anyone in we'll be inundated with requests surely?”

Ulrich looked thoughtful. “You're probably right. Any ideas as to how we could get around this?”

“Well actually I do have an idea” I said quietly.

Rahotep smiled to himself. He'd guessed that I must have something up my sleeve.

“Do you remember Peter Venables? The vicar from Long Compton?” I asked.

Olivier leaned forward. “Wasn't he the one who performed your wedding ceremony? I remember him. He was a reasonable man, very open-minded.”

“That's him. Well he told me about an old college friend of his who works at the British Museum. Professor Hulton, Paul Hulton. If he's anything like Peter then I'll bet he'd be delighted to join our little project. And if he represents the British Museum then it'll only enhance the prestige of the project amongst humans. He could make some enquiries and help us deal with requests. According to Peter he knows most of the scholars who frequent the British Library, and they're going to be the ones who'll want access first.”

“Very well” said Ulrich decisively. “Can I rely on you to arrange a meeting?”

“Sure! I'll contact Mr Venables and ask if he can introduce me.” I said.

Rahotep sat back looking pleased as the Council members began to get up and talk amongst themselves. “Well that was remarkably painless” he murmured to me.

“We do have one other little problem” said Ulrich quietly.

Everyone turned their heads to look at him and, one by one, they sat down again. 

“And what might this 'little problem' be?” asked Olivier.

“It's something I think you might be able to help us with Bill” said Ulrich brightly “you being such a great spokesman and TV personality, and so photogenic as well!”

Bill heaved a sigh. “Oh no......what mess do you need me to clean up this time?”

“Well there is no mess this time.....at least, not yet. I need you to forestall the mess. Now I guess no-one around this table watches much daytime TV right? But since everything is available online nowadays I wonder if anyone has seen a programme shown on Sunday mornings called 'The Main Question'?”

There was silence around the long conference table and Ulrich glanced around at us.

“I've seen it” I said. “It's a discussion programme, each week they invite a panel of guests to discuss various moral, ethical and religious questions. There's something similar on the radio called 'The Moral Maze' but they just have a few invited guests.”

Ulrich smiled at me, like I was his favourite pupil. “That's right. Well, this week one of the questions is going to be on hunting. We have discovered that a vampire is due to appear on the panel and that he will be arguing in favour of the hunting of humans.”

You could have heard a pin drop in the room as everyone took this is. Olivier put his head in his hands. “We're fighting a losing battle here! Why can't these idiots see that antagonising humans is a bad idea?”

“So what do you want me to do?” asked Bill. “Go on and argue with him?”

“He won't be attending” said Ulrich coldly. “One of our informants let us know of his plans in advance. He's been.........unavoidably detained.”

I noticed a couple of the Council members glance guiltily at each other and I suspected that he was actually being 'detained' somewhere quite close by.

“We've informed the programme makers that he won't be able to make it and they asked if we could send someone else. If we don't they'll probably just announce that they asked the Vampire Authority for a spokesman and we refused. That wouldn't look good!”

Bill pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. “Okay, I'll do it. But I can't imagine what you expect me to say?”

“Just tell the truth as you see it Bill” said Ulrich. “You're good at that.......everyone knows that humans have been hunted in the past, even that they still are by some vampires, but I know I can trust you not to make us look too bad. With any luck most of the programme will be taken up by an argument between the anti fox-hunting lobby and the Countryside Alliance.”


	4. Chapter 4

Just as Ulrich had foreseen, the first half of the programme consisted of a predictable and noisy argument between the anti-hunting group and the pro-hunting group regarding foxhunting. It was an argument that had been going on for years and would doubtless carry on for many more years to come.

Ulrich and I had slipped into the studio audience to listen to the recording and we were just beginning to think that they might run out of time before Bill had a chance to speak when the host, Martin Taverner put a stop to it and moved onto something more interesting. The ethics of big game hunting. Apparently an American had recently paid $350,000 at an auction in Texas for a permit to hunt an endangered Black Rhino in Namibia. There had been a massive outcry and threats against him and his family but he had fought back on the grounds that he would be hunting an old, non-breeding male who might be a danger to the rest of the herd as they frequently became aggressive. Also the money he had paid for the permit was to be put towards future conservation projects.

One man, Henry Rutherford, who ran a company organising trophy hunting trips to Africa was roundly condemned for promoting his 'sport' but interestingly there were a couple of conservationists who claimed that managed hunting could, in fact, be a good thing. Certainly it seemed as though some people were won over by the idea of the large amounts of money paid for hunting permits being ploughed back into conservation.

Then a lady from an African conservation foundation spoke up. 

“No, absolutely not! This gives the wrong impression altogether. This is not what conservation is about. This simply legitimises hunting in the eyes of people like Henry there. There are companies who breed lions in compounds in the bush and release them for rich westerners to “hunt”. It's a joke” she said angrily.

“That is nothing to do with us!” shouted Henry. 

A woman in a headscarf sitting in the front row a few seats away from Bill spoke up. “But killing animals for fun is just wrong! How can you call it sport?”

Henry sat up straighter. “You've obviously never tried it! Besides stag hunting is a difficult skill to master and the animal is butchered for meat as are the African antelope we hunt.”

“I've certainly never tried it! I never would..... I might kill an animal if I was starving and needed food but I would never do that for sport!” she cried, obviously annoyed by his comment.

Martin turned to Bill. “You're a hunter Mr Compton? What's your view on this?”

Bill looked into the camera innocently. “Well, I used to go hunting back in Louisiana before the War. I would shoot wild turkeys for the table so I can't really disagree with the idea of hunting for food now can I?”

Martin smiled. “When you say 'before the war' you're referring to the American Civil War, is that right? You're a vampire?”

Heads began to turn in Bill's direction and I noticed a few surprised expressions. Honestly! Did they think his pallor was just bad studio makeup?

“That's right” he smiled.

“So.......don't vampires need to hunt humans?” asked Martin.

“Not any more” said Bill. “It's no longer necessary.”

“But you have done in the past?”

“I have.” 

There was a murmur of disapproval but Bill sat quietly offering no further comment.

“So do you sympathise with Henry's views on hunting as a sport?”

“Certainly not!” said Bill, to general astonishment. “I have never once killed anything for sport.”

“No, you just kill humans for food!” shouted someone from the back of the panel.

Martin watched him, waiting for a response. 

“Don't humans kill animals for food? Isn't that what you've just been discussing?” asked Bill.

“So are you suggesting that there is no difference between yourself and humans who eat meat?” asked Martin.

“Of course there is” said Bill. 

I noticed a general appearance of relief in the rest of the panel at this statement. They clearly did not relish being placed in the same category as a vampire and assumed that he was conceding their moral superiority. But they were very much mistaken.

“The difference is that humans who eat meat must actually kill the animal in order to do so. I can feed on a human without killing them” he explained calmly.

There was immediate uproar in the studio. Martin held up a hand and the commotion settled down a little.

“You admit that you have hunted humans in the past. Wouldn't children be easier to catch? Did you ever feed on a child?”

Bill's eyes turned to chips of ice. “No!” He paused. “I had children of my own......I was a husband and a father. I have never fed on a child and I never would. I would sooner starve!”

“But you have killed humans for food” said the woman in the headscarf who had argued with Henry. “That's unforgivable surely?”

Bill leaned forward to look at her. “But you've just said that you would kill an animal if you had to in order to survive. I was doing what I had to do to survive!” He leaned back again with a sigh. “This was well over a century ago. Life was much harder then, and cheaper as well. There were men in the back alleys of New Orleans who would happily slit your throat for the coat off your back or the few coins in your pocket! Believe me I had no trouble finding suitable candidates. I lost count of the number of times I was knifed in the guts......it just didn't have the effect they were expecting.” 

He gave a cynical little smile. “There have always been evil men out there, murderers, rapists......I felt that if I had to kill someone, it might as well be someone who deserved it. So yes, I've hunted men, but they've always been those who preyed on their own kind.”

I noticed another woman who had argued doggedly against the hunters lean forward and catch Martin's eye. A sound engineer swung the microphone in her direction.

“Who are you to decide who lives and who dies?” she asked Bill angrily. “What gives you the right to judge?”

Bill watched her for a moment. “Who else is there?” he asked. “I would walk down an alleyway at three in the morning and find a young woman who had strayed away from her friends and got lost. A man would be holding her against a wall with a knife to her throat and his other hand tearing at her petticoats. Who do you think was going to help her? There was little law in those days, certainly no Police! Unless she was wealthy no one but her family would even care what happened to her.”

He turned to the camera. “You have no idea how fortunate you are to live in this time. There is so much help and protection to be had. When I was young we relied entirely on our own labour to live. I was a farmer, if there was too much rain, or too little giving a poor harvest, then we went hungry. If a man was unable to pay the rent he and all his family would be thrown out onto the streets with nothing. If you got sick, you took to your bed and you either recovered or you died. No one could afford to pay for a doctor, even if one was available. My son Thomas died at ten years old from smallpox. I lost my brother at about the same age. That would never happen now, but then it was quite common to lose a child.”

There was a hush in the studio, for the first time in the discussions no one tried to butt in.

After a second or two Martin appeared to realise that nothing was happening. “But you said that you could feed on humans without killing them?” he asked.

“It's always been possible, but before the Revelation it was more difficult and in the beginning......well, I was not even aware that it was possible. My maker........” Bill paused again, obviously embarrassed. “She enjoyed killing, it was some time before I realised that it was unnecessary but when I did......well, before the Revelation it was obviously necessary to use glamour to remove any memory of me, but at least they didn't die.” He gave a little smile. “I even used to give them advice on dietary supplements to replace the blood I'd taken.

There were a couple of giggles at this remark.

“But surely that's unnecessary now that you have the synthetic isn't it?” asked Martin.

Bill chuckled. “I was watching a movie the other night, “Crocodile Dundee”. There's a scene where he shows the girl how he can live off the land and cooks a lizard, a Goanna, over an open fire for her. He pointedly doesn't eat it himself and when she asks why he says “Well you know......it tastes like shit....but you can live on it!” 

There was a wave of laughter from the audience.

“Synthetic blood isn't quite as bad as that but it's not as good as the real thing.”

The laughter dried up suddenly. 

“To quote something a friend of mine once said 'would you be prepared to give up all your favourite foods and spend the rest of your life drinking slimfast?'”

“That's disgusting!”

The voice came from a man on the other side of the crescent shaped row of seating. I recognised him as one of the anti-foxhunting, animal rights group.

“Why?” asked Bill reasonably. “How is it any different from humans eating the flesh of animals?”

“Of course it's different!” he snapped. “Humans don't drink blood!”

“Certainly they do!” answered Bill. “The Masai of Africa drink the blood of their cattle.”

He looked confused for a moment. “That's different!”

“Why? Because they're animals?” asked Bill. “But weren't you just arguing that animals should have the same rights as humans? Besides, I very much doubt that the cattle volunteer to give their blood.”

“Well that really is wrong!” he said angrily. “People who act as donors for vampires are revolting and they should be ashamed of themselves!”

Bill sat back a little and looked out over the studio audience. “How many people here donate to the Blood Transfusion Service?” he asked.

The cameras panned out over the audience where a surprising number of hands were being raised. I could hear the man saying that this was quite different but the microphone was too far away to pick him up clearly.

“Now these people” said Bill “selflessly donate their blood because they know that it could save the life of another human. It does them no harm, so why should they not donate it for me? I also need it to survive and I'm prepared to pay them for it.”

“But paying for it makes it worse” said a man in the second row. “No-one should have to sell their blood!”

“I'm not suggesting that anyone should have to do it” answered Bill, looking back over his shoulder. “This may come as a shock to you but some people donate for nothing because they enjoy being bitten.”

There were a couple of gasps at this but not as many as I would have expected. It appeared that quite a few people were already aware of this!

“Would you use the same argument against prostitution?” asked Bill curiously. 

I thought the guy looked a little shifty at this and he said nothing.

“If it's okay for a woman to sell her body, then why not her blood? It's not ideal, but then we're not living in an ideal world and surely it's better than the alternative?” 

Bill was nothing if not a pragmatist and from the audience's reaction, it appeared that his argument was generally accepted.

At this point Martin moved to take charge of the discussion again. “Well, to get back to the original subject, I understand that you were recently the victim of hunters yourself Mr Compton? Has this perhaps changed your opinion at all?”

Bill smiled. “I assume you're referring to what happened recently in Egypt? They called themselves 'vampire hunters' but I wouldn't agree with that description myself. To call someone a hunter implies at least some level of skill, as a tracker or in stalking deer.....something like that. All these men did was break down a fire door in a hotel and kidnap half a dozen women, one of whom happened to be my wife. That doesn't take skill, just brutality and a complete lack of conscience.”


	5. Chapter 5

The Authority had provided a car to take us to the studios and we waited outside with Harry for one of his men to bring it around. The invited audience were filing out of the building at the same time and we received some curious glances but no-one approached us, either because of Harry’s obvious military experience or because they were simply not used to vampires.

As we stood on the pavement just outside the main entrance I glanced around the dark street, instinctively checking our surroundings. Traffic was moving fairly freely and the people from the studio audience were moving away in all directions. A bus moved away from a bus stop on the other side of the road, about a hundred yards down the street and as it did so I noticed someone standing in the shadows behind it, at the entrance to an alleyway. It was a woman and as I watched a man approached her, evidently under the impression that she was waiting for the sort of business opportunity normally favoured by women who hang out in dark alleyways! 

She glanced at him and he veered away immediately and carried on walking without even looking back.

I peered across the road, wondering what on earth she could have done to cause such a reaction. She turned her head back and appeared to look straight at me just as a passing car caught her in the headlights. She was wearing a dark green sleeveless tunic belted at the waist with what appeared to be a long sheath for a knife at her hip. Dark leggings were tucked into soft, calf length boots. Her arms were bare and a pattern of tattoos ran down the right arm and onto the back of her right hand. Her left wrist had a curious leather strap bound around it halfway to the elbow and another leather strap was bound around her forehead and held her long chestnut hair in a braid down her back. Her bright green eyes seemed to burn into mine and I turned to Bill and put a hand on his arm.

“Bill, take a look over there…..” I turned to point her out, but she had gone. Another car drove past, its headlights illuminating the entrance to an empty alleyway.

“What am I looking for?” asked Bill. “Oh, here’s the car…..”

I stared back at the empty space where the woman had stood as Bill opened the car door for me. Giving myself a little shake I climbed into the car and we were driven back to the Authority.

Ulrich must have been waiting for us since we’d hardly sat down when there was a knock at the door of the apartment. Rahotep and Amina excused themselves and retired to their room.

“Well that seemed to go quite well!” said Ulrich cheerfully, taking a seat on one of the sofas. “I think the guy who runs the Big Game Hunting company came off worse than you did on the whole. Well done!”

I sat quietly, curled up in the corner of the sofa while Ulrich congratulated himself on his wisdom in choosing Bill to appear on the programme. I didn’t think that Bill had noticed but I was evidently mistaken. As soon as he had seen Ulrich out, he turned to me. 

“You’re very quiet?” he said sitting down beside me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine” I answered, snuggling up against him.

He turned my head so that he could look at me. “Something’s bothering you, I can feel it. What were you trying to show me outside the studio?”

“There was a woman on the other side of the road, watching us. She was standing in the entrance to that alleyway behind the bus stop.”

Bill’s lips curled up into a smile. “Was she wearing a short skirt and stiletto heels?” he asked.

“No! Honestly…….men! She was not that kind of woman at all!”

“How do you know?” he asked.

I described her in detail. “Besides, a man approached her while I was watching, he must have had the same idea as you, and she frightened him off!”

That made Bill sit up. “Really? How?”

“I don’t know, but Bill, I’m sure of one thing. She wasn’t human! And she wasn’t vampire either…..”

“One of the Fae perhaps?” Bill was beginning to sound a little concerned.

“No. I don’t know exactly how I can tell, but I can. She wasn’t one of the Fae.”

Bill put an arm around me and a slight frown appeared on his face as he considered this. “A leather strap around her wrist?” he asked. “Like a brace? Or was it decorative?”

“It didn’t look like it was for decoration. It seemed more functional somehow and it went halfway up her forearm……just like…..” I suddenly remembered where I’d seen something like it before. “Like an archer! They wear something like that around their wrist to protect them from the bowstring snapping back when they release an arrow!”

“An archer….” murmured Bill thoughtfully. Then suddenly his face changed as an idea occurred to him. “Wait……we’d just come from a discussion about hunting. What if that had attracted her somehow?”

“Do you think she was some kind of spirit of the hunt? Or…..” a rather more disturbing thought hit me. “There are several Goddesses associated with hunting…..Diana, Artemis, Flidais…… what if she was one of those?”

“You think she was watching us? Or you specifically?” he asked. “There were a lot of people on that panel, and you were only in the audience.”

“She seemed to be. I wonder if…..if the fact that we know about Bast and Sobek has got around somehow?” 

Bill laughed. “What? You think they sit around and chat about us over a glass of ambrosia?”

I giggled…..I couldn’t help myself. “This isn’t funny Bill! Why else would she show an interest in us particularly?”

“Well, there can’t be many people who’ve ridden with the Wild Hunt” he said reasonably.

“That’s a good point! I hadn’t thought of that!” I said thoughtfully. “Maybe it's a bit of both?”

“We don't even know who she was” said Bill, putting his arm back around me and kissing me gently on the forehead. “For all we know she could have been on her way to a fancy dress party!”

I laid my head on his shoulder. “I'd like to think so Bill, really I would, but there was something about her........I'm quite sure she wasn't human.”

“Well.......perhaps she was a Goddess after all. Maybe she just wanted to get a look at us? I guess if she wants to contact us then she'll be in touch at some point. I doubt if there's anything we can do about it either way.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We spent the next few nights entertaining Rahotep and Amina. I was fairly sure that Rahotep would have been happy to spend all his time in the Library as he was fascinated by the storeroom of crates taken from one of the temples in Thebes where Maddie had found Amanet’s manuscript. However, to his credit, he restrained himself and accompanied us on a couple of sightseeing trips. In return I agreed that, since the material was Egyptian, I would arrange for several of the crates, in which he showed a particular interest, to be transferred to Giza.

I caught him watching me and turned to him. “What?” I asked.

“I was just reflecting that it would never have crossed Alberic’s mind to even suggest such a thing! It would simply never have occurred to him” he said wonderingly. “He’s been here so long that I’d almost given up hope of any real co-operation. You are like a breath of fresh air Alex!” 

He gave me that smile that lit up his somewhat austere features and made me understand why Amina loved him.

On one of our sightseeing trips we visited Hampton Court Palace and Rahotep told us more about his visit to Tudor England.

“It seemed to me that Henry was waiting for his grandmother to die before he arranged his and Katherine's coronation” he said thoughtfully. “It was said that she favoured an alliance with France and that she did her best to dissuade Henry from the marriage to his brother's widow.”

We were walking in the formal gardens after a tour of the palace. 

“That would be Margaret Beaufort?” I asked.

“That's right. She never believed that Katherine's marriage to Arthur wasn't consummated and that she was still a virgin.”

“What do you think?” Bill asked him.

“I don't know, no-one ever will now. The only person who knew the truth was Katherine.”

“They were very young when they married weren't they?” asked Bill “Only fifteen? and Prince Arthur died quite soon afterwards.”

“Lady Margaret was only twelve when she was married to Edmund Tudor and just fourteen when she gave birth to Henry Tudor” I said. “She knew better than anyone that they were quite old enough......”

“But why would she lie about such a thing?” asked Amina curiously. “What difference did it make?”

“Because if the marriage wasn't consummated, if she was still a virgin, then there would be no obstacle to her marrying her late husband's young brother Harry” I explained. “Otherwise she would have had to return to her parents in Spain who would have to find another marriage for her.”

Rahotep sniffed. “And Henry Tudor would have had to return the half of her dowry which Ferdinand had paid and pay her an annuity until she remarried! There was no way he was going to do that! In fact......” he lowered his voice so that none of the other visitors would hear him “.......the rumours at the time were that Henry wanted to marry her himself. His wife, Elizabeth of York, had died a year after Arthur and Henry decided to marry Katherine himself to keep the dowry.”

“Oh really!” I whispered. “That's just gossip.”

“Not at all” said Rahotep seriously. “I assure you. I heard it from a young lady who was close the the Spanish Ambassador. He was quite serious. After all young Harry was only ten years old when his brother died!”

“And what exactly were you doing with young ladies from the Spanish Ambassador's household?” asked Amina with a little smile. “Or shouldn't I ask?”

Rahotep looked down his long nose at her. “You shouldn't ask!” he answered with an equally secretive little smile.

Bill grinned at him and he laughed. Amina rolled her eyes at me. “Men! They're all the same!”

Bill and Rahotep looked at us with identical expressions of indignation as Amina and I fell about laughing.


	6. Chapter 6

The next night I called Peter Venables from my office in the Library.

“Mrs Compton! How nice to hear from you!” The warm friendly voice was just as I remembered it. “How are you? And how is Bill?”

“We're both fine, thanks.”

Peter knew that I was now vampire. Bill had talked with him at length at one point soon after he had turned me, when his guilt at what he had done to me became almost too much for him to bear, and fortunately Peter had taken exactly the same view as I did. I suspected that if I had been suffering from some terminal illness he might have thought differently, but since my near death had been caused by someone acting deliberately to try and kill me, he had taken the view that it was not my time to die and that Bill had done the right thing. Somehow the fact that this opinion came, not from vampires, but from a human, and particularly a man of God seemed to ease his mind.

“I really appreciated you taking the time to talk with him......it really helped.” I said gratefully.

“Oh......I was glad to be able to help my dear. I always feel a somewhat proprietorial interest in couples that I have married, and you two must certainly be the most unusual. But anyone seeing you together could tell how much he loves you. He just needed a little unbiased reassurance that he'd done the right thing.”

“Not many people would have thought so!”

I heard him chuckle to himself. “If only half of what he told me was true then you two are meant to be together!”

I smiled to myself. “Peter, I wonder if I can ask a favour of you?”

“Why of course! What can I do for you?”

“Bill told you that I'm now in charge of the Authority's Library?”

“Yes he told me that. He said that you’re very happy with the job” he paused for a moment. “Wasn’t the previous librarian the one who…….”

“Who tried to kill me? Yes, that’s right. It’s okay Peter, I’ve come to terms with it now.”

“Oh good…..I’m glad you’re okay.” He still sounded a bit hesitant and so I hurriedly changed the subject.

“Well, the Authority’s Library is absolutely enormous. A lot of it has never even been catalogued and none of it has ever been seen by humans before. We also have a museum containing all kinds of stuff which has been thought to have been lost over the centuries. I remember you telling me about a friend of yours who worked for the British Museum? Professor Hulton? I’ve managed to persuade the High Council that we should release this information and I wondered if he might be interested in meeting me to discuss access to the Library?”

There was a short silence while Peter took this in. “Why, yes! I’m sure he’d be fascinated. The opportunity to see a library that no one has ever seen before…..he’d jump at the chance!"

I couldn’t suppress a grin. I was looking forward to meeting him. “Could you arrange a meeting for us? He could come here or I could go to the Museum, whichever is easiest for him?”

“I’ll talk to him and I’ll get back to you Alex. Give Bill my best wishes” he said warmly. I thanked him and hung up.

I spent the next couple of hours with my assistant Maddie, Rahotep and Amina going through some of the unopened crates containing Egyptian scrolls in one of the many storerooms that surrounded the Library in a rabbit warren of corridors. I had warned him to wear old clothes as most of the crates were thick with dust but it hadn’t deterred him in the least. When he first saw the storerooms he was like a kid in a sweetshop, examining the seals on all the crates and exclaiming at the rarity of the contents. However, he soon settled down and we ended up sitting on the floor sorting scrolls into groups, depending on which temple they had come from and then into subgroups based on the reigns of the Pharaohs in which they had been written.

I could see why Rahotep had taken Amina on as an assistant as she was quick and well organised, and they worked well together with the ease of long practice. We were completely absorbed in this and I had lost track of the time, when the door opened and Sara put her head around the door.

“Ah! So this is where you’re all hiding!” she said. “I’ve been looking all over for you. There’s a phone call for you in your office Alex, a Professor Hulton?”

“Oh!” I jumped up, brushing the dust off my knees. “Great! I’ll be right there. This is the man I hope will help us with the release of information from the Library.” 

Sara gave a little sniff. I knew she wasn’t entirely happy with this, Alberic would never have approved! But personally I didn’t give a damn what she thought, the project had been approved by the High Council and was going ahead whether she liked it or not! I left Rahotep and Amina to their work and headed back to my office, making a mental note to keep an eye on Sara. I didn’t really think she would try to sabotage my plans, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Professor Hulton had the sort of rich, cultured voice I expected, since I had checked him out and discovered that he had a double first in Classics from Oxford. He sounded quite excited at the prospect of seeing a new Library and somehow, I got the impression that he had no idea quite how big it was, probably because Peter had never seen it either. I arranged to meet him at the British Museum in a couple of nights time and give him an idea of the sort of content we had. I fished my tablet computer out of my bag and checked that the index of the Library’s content that I had been building up since I started the job was up to date and put the appointment into my diary.

I hurried back to the storeroom and continued to work until I heard a soft cough and turned to see Bill leaning on the door frame watching us.

“Do you think you could persuade your staff to be a little more accommodating?” He asked. “I've just spent ten minutes arguing with one of your assistants. In the end I had to pull rank on her and demand to be allowed in as High Chancellor!”

“Oh dear! That would be Sara.” I said. “She has a knack for being awkward, but she is good at her job. It's the only reason she's still here!”

I knew Bill hated throwing his weight around as High Chancellor. He was naturally reserved and retiring. I resolved to talk seriously wth Sara and explain that she could not keep my husband out of the Library!

“So, now that I've finally got in and found you, do I have to throw you over my shoulder and drag you back to the apartment?” he asked.

Rahotep gave him a disapproving glance.

“Not you! You can walk!” said Bill with a grin.

An answering smile spread over Rahotep’s face as he stood up and stretched. “You’re right. We should call it a night!” he said.

We walked back to the apartment chatting companionably together and then headed for our separate rooms for the day.

Bill and I curled up together against the pile of pillows and he put an arm around my shoulders.

"I've got some news for you Alex. Your ideas about research into our blood has been taken up. Ulrich and Lily have got our top man on it!" He grinned at me. "You should make an effort to attend more of the High Council meetings after all."

He watched me eagerly, obviously waiting for the question. "Okay, I'll go for it! Who's our top man?" I asked patiently.

"Louis Pasteur."

I sat down on the sofa with a thump. "You're kidding me! Really? Pasteur's a vampire?"

He laughed and came and sat beside me. "That was pretty much the same reaction that I had when Nan Flanagan told me back in the 1980s. Apparently he was one of the people working on the development of Tru Blood so it was a natural progression to ask him if he would be prepared to take this on as well."

"So when did they decide this? How's he getting on? Has he found anything.........?"

"Whoa! Slow down! They only asked him last week. You heard all the arguments about the advisability of doing the research in the first place, never mind who was going to pay for it....." He stopped and looked down at me. "I think it was your conversation with Lily that clinched it you know. She attended the last meeting and insisted that the Authority fund his research."

Lily had asked me for all the details of our captivity on the island and I had told her of my thoughs on doing the research ourselves. I think the idea of pulling the rug out from under Chevalier Pharmaceuticals by taking over their research appealed to her as much as it did to me.

“Wow!” I didn't know what else to say.


	7. Chapter 7

A few nights later we were in the apartment sitting on the couch taking about Bill's upcoming Council Meeting when I noticed a strange effect on the other side of the room. It looked like a faint mist, or a blurring of the air so that I couldn't quite focus on the wall behind it. 

I was just about to mention it to Bill when it seemed to solidify and suddenly Sobek was standing on the dove grey carpet in our lounge.

Bill and I stood up hurriedly and faced him.

“Good evening Alexandra!” he said, smiling at me. “Good evening William.”

“Sobek! This is a…….. a surprise.” I said. “We didn’t expect to see you in London!”

“I can sense where you are Alexandra, I hope you don’t mind?” for a moment he looked almost apprehensive, as though he though he had committed some kind of faux pas.

“Why no, of course not!” I said quickly “I’d like to thank you for what you did when we were trapped on the island. Your help was very much appreciated believe me!”

Sobek’s expression darkened and I could suddenly see why the ancient Egyptians feared him as an aggressive and animalistic deity. “What those men planned was an abomination!” he hissed. 

I noticed that when he got angry his fangs lengthened sufficiently to make him lisp slightly. But seriously I doubted that anyone would laugh at this. I had done some research on him when we returned to London and had discovered that he was believed to embody a curious mixture of attributes. In one aspect he was thought to live up to the vicious reputation of his patron animal, the large and violent Nile Crocodile. We had seen this demonstrated ourselves when he had killed Dr Malik with one snap of his powerful jaws.

However, according to my research, he was also associated with Isis as a healer of the deceased Osiris and from this association with healing he was considered a protective deity. His fierceness was able to ward off evil while simultaneously defending the innocent. It appeared that he had decided that I was in need of his protection. Considering that Bill and I were the only creatures on earth to have spoken to him in thousands of years I supposed that was not surprising really.

“Well…..I’m really very grateful.”

I was just about to invite him to sit down when the door to the guest room opened and Rahotep came out.

“Bill, I wonder if you……….” He saw Sobek and stopped suddenly, staring at him. Taking in the short white Egyptian kilt and reed sandals, the greenish tint to the skin and the wide, reptilian eyes. His mouth opened and closed a few times but he was unable to come out with anything coherent.

I remembered his reaction when we had spoken in Cairo, when he had asked us to confirm his guess about the identity of the crocodile he had seen on the island. Bill obviously recalled this is as well and hurriedly stepped forward. 

“This is Rahotep, the Librarian from Cairo” he said, pointedly not mentioning who Sobek was as neither of us had any idea if he wanted anyone else to recognise him. I suspected, however, that it was too late as Rahotep’s expression was that of someone who had seen a miracle happen before his eyes.

Sobek was watching him, his head on one side, considering. “I recognise you don't I?” he asked. “You went to the island with Bill?”

“You were on the island?” whispered Rahotep. “But you were not in this form were you?”

“I was not.” Sobek regarded him solemnly for a moment and then seemed to come to a decision. 

“You know who I am do you not?” he asked.

Rahotep looked stunned. “I believe that you are Sobek, the Lord of the Waters” he said.

Sobek smiled. “You truly do believe don't you. I can feel the power of it. You were a priest?”

“I was trained in the Temple of Amun at Thebes my Lord” he replied, sounding stunned.

“I am very glad to meet you Rahotep. It does my heart good to see someone who remembers the ancient times.”

Rahotep clearly didn't know what to say. “I am.....honoured my Lord!”

There was a moments slightly uncomfortable silence, then Bill's innate hospitality cut in. “Won't you sit down?” he asked.

We all sat, feeling slightly more relaxed and Bill spoke up again. “You're always welcome Lord Sobek but was there some reason for your visit?”

“I thought that I should let you know that there has been some considerable interest in you my dear!” he said to me. “You too William. Bast has been bragging about her encounter to anyone who will listen.”

I went cold. “You mean……to other Gods? Other Gods know that we’ve met you?”

“Indeed so!” Sobek gave a little smile. “In fact I have been given a mission!” His smile broadened, revealing his sharp jagged fangs. “I have been asked if I might introduce you to someone…..possibly several someones…. You have come to the attention of the Goddesses of the hunt.”

“You want to introduce her to them?” asked Bill, leaning forward. “Because she’s not leaving here without me!”

“Not just her. They want to meet you as well. And you would not need to go anywhere, they would come here.”

Bill and I glanced at each other rather wildly. “Well, I assure you that they would be very welcome, although I suspect that Lilith would not be too pleased.”

Bill had somehow managed to combine hospitality with just a slight warning that we had powerful protection of our own.

“Would you be prepared to meet them now?” he asked.

Bill looked at me and I shrugged. Better here where we had friends around us than somewhere where we were alone, I thought.

“Certainly!” said Bill.

Sobek smiled and stood up, his eyes losing focus for a moment as he concentrated on something beyond the comfortable lounge of our apartment.

Suddenly the area before the doorway burred again and two women stepped out. One I recognised immediately as the woman I had seen outside the TV studio. She was dressed in the same dark green tunic and leggings with her hair tied back severely in a plait down her back.

The other woman was blond and curvaceous, she was wearing a short white dress, belted at the waist and fixed on one shoulder with her hair flowing down her back in golden waves. On her feet were leather sandals with straps up the calves.

Sobek indicated the woman in green and said “This is Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and this is her sister Diana.”

I stared at them, astonished. “Good evening!” I said. “I saw you just the other day when we were waiting for the car didn't I?” I asked, addressing Artemis.

She smiled. “I was curious about you. We had heard stories about your meetings with Sobek and Bast. Very few mortals are even aware of our existence, but I have been informed that you are even acquainted with the leader of the Wild Hunt?”

“Well……yes, I suppose we are!” I glanced at Bill, who nodded.

“Yes” he said. “We were invited to ride with the hunt.”

Artemis blinked. “That is unheard of! No mortal has ever ridden with the Hunt and survived!”

Bill raised an eyebrow. “But of course……you are not mortal.”

She turned to Diana, “We had never considered that vampires were so different to humans.”

I glanced from one to the other. “Forgive me for asking but.......aren't you essentially the same Goddess?” 

I saw Bill wince out of the corner of my eye but Diana answered quite readily.

“Since we were worshipped by very different peoples we have developed different personalities” she explained. 

I saw a small smile on the lips of Artemis and realised that, as she was the Greek version, she was presumably the older, perhaps the original. I decided it would be impolite to mention this. 

Just then there was a knock at the door and we all started slightly. The two Goddesses stiffened and looked poised to leap away but Bill held up a hand. He slipped out into the hall and closed the door behind him. Moments later he came back in with Lilith beside him.

“I thought I felt something!” she said, eyeing the two Goddesses in a none too friendly manner. “What exactly is going on here?”

“They're just visiting, Lily! Everything's fine” said Bill soothingly. “It seems that they've heard about our meeting with Bast and our ride with the Wild Hunt and wanted to meet us for themselves.

“I see. Well ladies, you've met them.......”

She was obviously unhappy about them being there but didn't want to embarrass Bill by actually throwing them out. Fortunately Sobek turned out to be a consummate diplomat. 

“It's been delightful to see you again and also to meet you Rahotep.” He gave my fellow librarian a little bow. “Come ladies, it's time we were going.”

He waved a hand and they simply faded away.

“What exactly was going on here?” demanded Lilith.

“I don't know, Lily” replied Bill patiently. “They just turned up!”

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment. “You didn't know they were coming?” she asked.

“No! Well.........Sobek arrived first and asked if he could introduce us to the two Goddesses. I didn't see any harm in it.” explained Bill. “I'd rather have them arrive when there are other people around frankly, considering how Bast behaved when she caught me on my own!”

I laughed. “I think you’ve struck out this time! Besides hunting the one thing Artemis and Diana were famous for was their virginity. The Celtic Goddess of the Hunt, Flidais, on the other hand, also represented sexual passion........but then, she didn’t show up.”

Lilith smiled. “She's right, you'd better not try anything with those two. The last man who tried it on with Diana was turned into a stag and torn apart by his own hounds!”

“May I ask a question?” 

We had almost forgotten that Rahotep was still seated quietly on the couch. We turned to him curiously. 

“Alex asked an interesting question” he said thoughtfully. “If they are essentially the same Goddess, why are they two different people? The looked different and behaved differently as well. Why should that be?”

Lilith looked a little uneasy at this. “Well, as Diana said they were worshipped by very different peoples, the Greeks and the Romans.”

I could see Rahotep processing this thought but I could also see that Lilith didn't really want to give him a full answer. Fortunately he was sufficiently intuitive so sense this himself and he got up and excused himself, leaving us alone in the lounge.

Bill turned to Lilith. “There's more to this isn't there?” he asked. “They were formed in different ways by different worshippers, that's what you told me?”

Lilith sighed and sat down on the couch recently vacated by Rahotep. “It's difficult to explain and I want you both to promise to keep what I tell you to yourselves!”

Bill and I sat down. “Of course!” he said. I nodded my agreement.

“When I first saw you William I wanted to see you again, I wanted to please you. This was a curious feeling, something I had never felt before. Until I took you as my host I never wanted to change. You know this.....when you suggested that I might, I was furious with you. It was only since my first meeting with you at the shrine that I had tried to change and discovered that somehow, it had become impossible for me.

I told you that Gods are sustained by belief, but it is more than that. They are also moulded by it, shaped into a specific form. They become what their worshippers want them to be. This can be a good thing, if they are believed to be powerful and immortal, but the downside is that we can **only** be what they believe us to be. I discovered this long ago, that I could not do certain things, my nature would not allow it, expectations came with the power. But I didn't really notice them until I tried to break free. Only then did I realise that my nature was no longer mine to do with as I pleased. I could only be what my people wanted me to be. I could not change, even if I wanted to. 

This had satisfied me for a long time as I was happy to be the vengeful Goddess that my vampire children imagined and worshipped. It was you William, your influence, that enabled me to change, to grow. You thought that you were merely teaching me, but it was more than that.....so much more. It was your faith in me that broke through the pattern of millennia and meant that I was able to become what you believed I could be.” 

She smiled at Bill. “In a way, you have made me what I am now.”  



	8. Chapter 8

After Lilith had left, Rahotep emerged from his room with Amina. He sat on the couch without a word and looked at us for a moment. “I have seen something here tonight that will change my whole life.” he said quietly.

Amina took his hand and he smiled down at her. “Don't worry, I'm going to be fine, I'm just shocked..... I feel as though a whole new world is opening up before me. I feel young again......and not just because of Lord Sobek.” He smiled. “You two have revolutionised my life. I had got into a rut in my Library, I was becoming set in my ways.....Oh, don't try and deny it!” He wagged a finger at Amina who had seemed about to speak up. “You've told me so yourself! Well you were right. I haven't left Egypt in centuries, despite your entreaties. When I was younger I travelled a lot, I just felt that I had seen everything there was to see.......was that a mistake!”

I laughed “Did you ever come back to England?” I asked.

“As a matter of fact I did. I returned to England in the spring of 1541 and followed the King’s Great Progress. Henry, half of his privy councillors, his royal household, and an entourage of several thousand courtiers and soldiers as well as numerous hangers-on left London for York in the summer of that year. At that time Henry was married to his…..” Rahotep thought for a moment “…..fifth wife, Catherine Howard. And a flighty piece she was too!”

I laughed. “And what would you know about that may I ask?”

“Why I saw her myself! Do you think I can’t tell? He put an arm around Amina and pulled her a little closer. “I may have spent my early years in a Temple but I’ve learned a lot since then!” He leaned down and kissed her gently. “Especially about women…….”

He smiled at us “So…..in the summer of 1541I left London and headed north after the King’s progress. You need to understand that, in those days, England was not as populated as it is today. Cities were good hunting grounds as people were packed closely together but in the countryside it was much more difficult. Villages and hamlets were far apart and everyone knew everyone else, strangers were viewed with suspicion. The progress was a boon to us because of the huge numbers of people, most of whom had no idea who was riding or even sleeping next to them. I was not the only vampire who took advantage of this bounty, although we were careful to keep well apart.

I was fascinated by the spectacle and the organisation involved. I went to ground far out into the woods at dawn and caught up with the progress each night. “

How did you know where they were?” asked Amina

Rahotep laughed. “Believe me I had no problem following them, the Progress left a broad swathe of destruction behind it through the countryside. There was an advance guard of clerks and engineers going ahead to arrange accommodation for the King and Queen and the members of the Royal Household but the vast majority of people were accommodated in tents or with the locals. I arrived at York in advance of the King’s party to find that work was well advanced on the preparations. It appeared that the people of the city were not too happy with the influx of southerners. This made it easier for me as the people of York assumed I was with the Progress and the members of the Progress assumed I was a local!”

“I would have thought the people would have been glad of a chance to see the King and Queen” said Amina. “They’d probably never seen them before had they? And probably wouldn’t get another chance in their lifetimes.”

“Possibly they might have been, normally” said Rahotep. “But these were not normal circumstances. Not only were the northerners mostly Catholics and not very sympathetic to Henry’s reforms but the dissolution of the city’s religious institutions had a knock on effect on the economy. The monasteries had provided a significant market for traders and manufacturers in cloth, building materials and foodstuffs. The city was an ecclesiastical and administrative centre, the seat of the Archbishop of York, it had a large and very wealthy cathedral. With the destruction of the various shrines in the city, the number of visitors to the city declined as the pilgrim trade was eliminated. 

It was obvious to me that during this period the number of our kind had increased. Normally there was a recognised ratio of vampires to humans, not enough to make the losses noticeable. Something like one to two or three hundred.”

“Like lions on the Serengeti” I murmured to myself.

The other three vampires eyed me disapprovingly.

“Sorry…..”

“As I was saying…… In many respects the religious houses probably needed reform. The reports sent by the commissioners told tales of lurid behaviour and acts of debauchery by the monks. Adultery, gambling, drinking, and neglecting to perform their religious offices. Probably a number of these stories were made up as a way of justifying the closure of the houses. However, the monasteries and hospitals also fulfilled a charitable function by housing and taking care of the city’s infirm and poverty-stricken inhabitants. Now they had nowhere to go and were easy prey for our kind.

The Progress was scheduled to be lodged at St Mary’s Abbey which had been dissolved by the Crown in 1539. After it ceased to function as a monastery, the abbot’s residence was converted into the head quarters for the Council of the North and renamed King’s Manor, but the main church was left empty. I noticed rather to my shock, that it was being used to stable the horses of the advance party. Wooden stalls had been set up in the nave and a glazier from the city was busy removing the stained glass from the windows before the King arrived. I suspected that many of the local people had taken advantage of the building materials that were made available, taking stone, lead from the roofs and glass to build or decorate their own homes. This, in fact, was where I first heard the Queen’s name mentioned.”

We all sat up a little straighter at this. There’s nothing like a bit of gossip to make you pay attention!

I was standing, unseen in the shadows beside the wall of the great Abbey Church when I noticed a group of people beside the rear doors to the King’s Manor where the Royal Party would be lodged. There were two women dressed in the elaborate robes of gentlewomen arguing with a clerk in a dusty black gown. It appeared that he was responsible for allocating the lodgings and the ladies were not happy with his work for some reason. They probably could not see me and even if they had, there would be no way that a human could have overheard them at that distance. Simply out of curiosity I concentrated on them and listened.

The first surprise was when the little clerk addressed the taller of the two ladies as Lady Rochford.”

I sat up at this. “Lady Rochford? That was Jane Boleyn’s title, she was lady-in-waiting to both Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard.”

Rahotep smiled proudly at me. “Quite right! She was the young Queen’s principal Lady-in-waiting and confidante and what was she asking for? She was assuring the clerk that Catherine had a terror of fire and needed to know which was the nearest external door to her lodgings in case she needed to escape during the night. The clerk was assuring her that the door from the kitchens was the nearest and she was demanding a key.”

Rahotep paused for a moment. “Well, I may be an old cynic but I can think of a better reason why a young girl married to an old and possibly impotent man might need a key to an outside door, can’t you?”

“Oh you old gossip!” said Amina, laughing. “And they complain about us!”

“Not at all! Several nights later, after the Royal Party had arrived, I actually saw Jane Rochford let a young man who I subsequently discovered to be Thomas Culpeper, one of Henry's secretaries, out of that door. And I don't think he'd been visiting her.......”

I sat back. “Well she certainly paid the price! Both she and Culpeper were executed along with Lady Rochford and.......another man......Francis Dereham.”

“Well from what I saw of the liaisons at the kitchen door of the King's Manor they were almost certainly guilty! And Lady Rochford was just as guilty for assisting them! She was certainly not popular amongst the Queen's household.”

“How can you know that?” asked Amina incredulously.

“Why I asked them!” said Rahotep as if this was the most obvious thing in the world. “I was noticed you know. I'm not a ghost, I was seen often, but of course no-one knew what I was. I had to pass through the soldier's checkpoints in order to access the camp at all. A little glamour took care of the fact that I had no papers, and there were many housemaids attached to the Queen's household. It was a simple matter for me to approach one and ask a few questions.” 

Rahotep's face took on a reminiscent expression. “There was one girl.....I spotted her first in the town, buying sweetmeats and ingredients for the Queen's kitchen. Her name was Agnes, a plump little thing, understandable perhaps in a kitchenmaid. I followed her one night and engaged her in conversation. I asked her about Lady Rochford. 

“What is she like?” I asked.

“I have little to do with her, all fear her, they say she is dangerous” she said, confidingly.

“And is she?”

“I think so. She is not a stupid woman, and yet she behaves stupidly, dangerously. She likes nothing better than to dig up juicy gossip and take it where it will do most harm. You would think she would be wary of gossip after what happened with her husband and Queen Anne Boleyn.”

“And Master Culpeper, I've seen him with Lady Rochford, are they friends?”

She giggled. “Oh it's not her he wants to get friendly with!” There was a sound from the Manor House and she stared and looked round. “Oh I must go.....” and she hurried off in the direction of the kitchens.

Rahotep’s face took on a serious expression. “We might laugh and talk about gossip now, but what they were doing was deadly serious, dangerously so and they died a terrible death for it. Sleeping with another man’s wife is always going to be dangerous, but when that other man is the King of England…..then it’s treason”

“How could they have been so stupid?” asked Amina. “Was she really that pretty?”

“Well, from what I saw of her, she was young and careless. Pretty too of course. But then Culpeper was a friend of hers from her youth and Dereham was reputed to have been her lover before she met Henry, there was talk that they were pre-contracted to marry, but she denied it in order to marry Henry. He probably believed that he had a claim on her.”

“Did you meet either of them?” I asked.

“Once” he said thoughtfully. “I had come into the camp one night just after sunset. As soon as you came through the gate in the wall you were overcome by a harsh smell of woodsmoke and sweat. I strolled casually around the camp until I came to a cockfighting ring. A group of young courtiers were standing around a camp fire and cheering as two black cocks slashed at each other with the metal spurs fixed to their feet.

“Your bird is losing again Master Dereham!” said a young man standing a few yards from me in a cultivated drawl.

The man next to him laughed harshly and turned to him, his face lit by the flickering fire. “I'll still not lose as much as you have tonight Culpeper!”

I moved slightly to see his face and recognised him as the young man I had seen leaving King's Manor through the kitchen door late the previous night. He was certainly handsome but he had an air of entitlement about him that I didn't like. Agnes had told me that he had made a pass at her. That he tried it on with every woman he met. But, as Alex said, he paid a dreadful price! Catherine and Lady Rochford were beheaded as was Culpeper, since he belonged to the nobility, but Francis Dereham was hanged, drawn and quartered.”

“Oh!” I put my hands up to my face in shock. “That’s awful!”

Amina looked puzzled. “What does that mean?” she asked.

I glanced at Bill and grimaced. “Well” he said reluctantly “the man is hanged, but cut down before he’s dead and then disembowelled while he’s still alive. Then the body is beheaded and cut into four pieces.”

Amina looked sick and turned to Rahotep. “They really did that?” she asked weakly.

“Oh yes, they certainly did. A number of the northern rebels had been executed before the Progress arrived and several of the city gates and bridges had heads and other body parts stuck on spikes on them, and that wasn’t all I saw. I also took a look at York Castle. By this time the castle had fallen into disrepair although some of the defences remained intact. This was why Henry and his councillors no longer had an official residence and had to be lodged at St Mary’s. I couldn’t get too close as the castle was used as a jail and a site for political executions. The area was dominated by the great Keep, Clifford’s Tower they called it, and hanging from the top of the Tower, in chains, was a bleached white skeleton which proved to be the remains of a Yorkshire solicitor named Robert Aske.” 

“Robert Aske!” I cried sitting up. “But he was one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace. That must have been five years earlier. You mean he’d been hanging there ever since?”

“What was the Pilgrimage of Grace?” asked Bill curiously. 

“It was probably one of the biggest consequences of Henry’s dissolution of the monasteries.” I said, going into ‘lecture’ mode. “In the Autumn of 1536 there was an uprising in Lincolnshire where nearly 40,000 people marched on the city of Lincoln. It spread north into Lancashire, Durham and Northumberland where they joined up with rebels from Yorkshire, led by Robert Aske, and laid siege to Pontefract Castle. Henry sent his army north under the Duke of Norfolk and up to two hundred of the leaders were executed for treason for their part in the rebellion. Aske was, understandably, terrified of being drawn and quartered and Henry promised him that, if he confessed he would be hanged until he was dead. He assumed this to mean that he would simply be hanged, but instead Henry had him hanged in chains. He was wrapped in chains and hung from the top of the tower and simply left there until he died of hunger or thirst, then his body was left hanging to rot and be picked over by the crows.”

Amina shuddered. “And they think we’re cruel and heartless” she said.

I thought of the torture device used by the Authority that Bill had told me about. The one which injected colloidal silver directly into a vampire’s veins. I didn’t think there was much difference to be honest. Bill was right when he said that there was good and bad in all of us, both human and vampire. It just depended on the individual which was allowed to take charge.

“Although I spent quite a lot of my time around St Mary’s Abbey where most of the King’s retinue and soldiers were quartered, I did also explore the city of York” said Rahotep, changing the subject quickly.

“I’ve always liked York” I said. “It’s small enough to be able to walk around and you can get up onto the walls to get a good view, and there’s the Minster and the Castle as well.”

“I’m sure it’s probably lovely in the daylight, and much nicer now as well” answered Rahotep diplomatically. “But I have to admit that I found it claustrophobic and uncomfortable. The streets were narrow and dark, overhung with the upper stories of the buildings and stank of the waste thrown into the gutters. I was used to the wide open starry skies of the desert, to be hemmed in on all sides was distinctly unnerving to me.

I loved the Minster though! A lot of the altars and offerings to the saints had been removed by the Kings commissioners but somehow that only added to its beauty. The wide open nave and massive expanses of stained glass were the greatest in Europe, and I believe they still are today.” He smiled at Bill for a moment. “Together, of course, with the shrine of one of the earlier Archbishops of York, Saint William!”

Bill laughed. “Seriously? Saint William?”

“Did you see Henry again?” I asked.

“Indeed I did. I have to say that in some ways I can understand Catherine's actions. He attended a bout of bear baiting one night and I was able to get a reasonable look at him then. Henry had not aged well. He had been injured in a jousting accident and was unable to take the exercise he had been used to in his youth and therefore he'd gained weight and he suffered from a series of other ailments. However he was still a big strong man in his padded doublet of cloth of gold, slashed with scarlet silk and a hat with a peacock feather in it. Catherine looked like a child beside him. He could be cruel and heartless to his enemies and was considered a tyrant in the eyes of some of his subjects, but there was no doubting that he was also magnificent.


	9. Chapter 9

A few days later Rahotep received a message from Theophanes asking him to return to Cairo to help him with the negotiations for the new nest in Alexandria. We took one of the Authority's pool cars and drove them to the airport. 

“It's been a pleasure to see you again Bill” said Rahotep, shaking Bill's hand. 

Amina gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I've had a wonderful time, even if we did spend a lot of it in the Library!” she said with a grin. “You must come and take a look at the new nest once it's fully set up.”

Rahotep put his arms around me and gave me a kiss. “I know I've said this before Alex but your visit to Cairo really changed my life. I look forward to seeing you again soon!”

“You must come and stay again soon” I said. “We really loved having you.”

With a last wave they headed into the special lounge where Anubis Air kept their pods and checked in for their flight back to Cairo.

When Bill and I got back the apartment seemed strangely empty. I realised that I was going to miss Amina as a friend of about my own age just as much as I would miss Rahotep as a colleague.

Bill watched me for a moment and seemed to intuitively understand my quiet mood. 

“Why don't we go back to Oxford for a few days?” he suggested. “You've spent enough time in that Library just lately. When is your appointment with Professor Hulton?”

“Not for a couple of nights yet” I answered. “We could go to the cottage! We haven't been to Faery in a while and we need a bit of peace and quiet after all the excitement.”

“Genius!” said Bill, looking at his watch. “Get your bags! We've just time to get back to the Mill House before dawn!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I woke with a vague feeling of disorientation. For a moment I couldn't work out where I was. Then I felt Bill shift in his sleep and curl up against me and I relaxed, we were in Faery. We were safe here, and alone together. I pulled the furs up over us and fell asleep again.

When we woke it was gone midday and we decided to go for a walk around the edge of the lake. The area around our cottage was beautiful countryside and I loved it but what I loved most was the sunshine. I knew I was incredibly fortunate that, despite my turning, I had never really lost the daylight as other vampires had. I knew how lucky I was as I had seen how the sight of that first dawn for a century and a half had affected Bill. 

It was peaceful and quiet and we walked hand in hand for quite a distance before turning back late in the afternoon. We had almost got home when I noticed Bill's attention was on something else. He was peering into the distance. 

“What on earth is that?” he asked, pointing to something above the waterfall on the far side of the lake.

I stared upwards in the direction he was pointing. Something that looked like a large bird was heading down towards the trees on the side of the lake. A very large bird, I realised as it flew over the trees. The wings didn’t look like those of a bird though…..more like a bat, but it was far too big for that. With a shock I realised that it reminded me of models of pterodactyls I’d seen in the movies, but the body wasn’t the right shape…..

As we watched it with a mixture of curiosity and mystification it appeared to misjudge the angle of its descent and struck the top branches of the tallest tree. There was a high, thin cry of pain and shock and the creature began to fall, tumbling over in the air and hitting the surface of the lake with a resounding splash that echoed off the surrounding cliffs.

Bill and I glanced at each other and, without a word, began to run towards the lake. Bill was much faster than me and had pulled ahead and dived in before I reached the bank. I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would be better if I waited to see if he needed help, then I waded in heading towards the spot where Bill had hit the water. I was in up to my waist when there was a disturbance on the surface and a strange creature appeared with Bill supporting it on one side. I helped Bill manoeuvre the creature out of the water until it stood dripping on the bank, head down and making a piteous keening sound of pain. It was obviously injured.

I stepped back and took my first good look at it. “Bill!” I whispered in amazement. “It’s a dragon!”

It was about the size of a large horse but covered in dark scales. The back sloped slightly down to powerful haunches and back legs. The muscular shoulders sprouted a pair of dark wings, one of which was folded neatly back against its side but the other trailed on the ground and I could see a ragged tear in the leathery membrane. The creature gave another whimper and I put out my hand instinctively and began to stroke its muzzle, just as I did with Titania

“Oh you poor thing! You’re hurt!” I murmured.

“Careful!” said Bill, coming over to me. “It must be frightened as well as in pain.”

The dragon stepped forward and pushed its muzzle into my hands trustingly, giving another little whimper of pain as the injured wing was dragged forward.

Suddenly I heard a faint voice in my head. _“Hurts……it hurts so much!”_

“Er…..Bill? Did you hear that?” I asked.

“Yes!” He came round to the side of the dragon and crouched down to examine the wing. “It must have been him!”

“Her!” I said.

“You think it’s female?” he asked, looking up. “Why?”

“I don’t know exactly” I answered. “I just feel that she’s female…..”

She turned her head towards me. _“Yes.”_ The voice was faint but distinct.

“There, see! I was right!” I said.

Bill had crouched down beside her and carefully lifted the damaged wing. “Oh dear, this looks bad!” he muttered.

I squatted down and looked under the leading edge of the wing. To my horror I saw a broken branch about a foot long, protruding from her side. It must have torn straight through the wing and then broken off when she fell. I patted her neck gently and she turned her head around to peer underneath the wing at the wound. I could feel her trembling as Bill touched it gently.

“This has got to come out you know” he said. “It’ll be dark soon, we should really do it now.”

I looked into the big jewelled eye that was just beside my face. “Is that okay? It’ll probably hurt but Bill is only trying to help you.” I whispered to her.

 _“Yes, I know. Please get it out!”_ she said weakly.

Bill stood up and walked down to the edge of the lake pulling off his shirt, then dipped it in the water and came back. 

“Alex, hold this wing up out of the way would you?”

I steadied the injured wing and felt the dragon flinch as Bill gently probed the wound with his long fingers. He carefully eased the piece of wood out and dropped it on the grass, carefully picking out the few slivers of wood that remained. He wiped the area with his shirt leaving a long streak of dark blood on it, then pressed it against the wound and held it there.

“We need to get her inside, it’s cold out here and I can feel her shivering” he said. “I think she’ll fit through the door into the cottage if she keeps her head down, then at least she can lie down by the fire and keep warm.”

“Can you walk?” he asked. “It’s not far, just up to the cottage there?”

_“Yes. I can walk there.”_

So we walked carefully up to the cottage, the dragon between us, with Bill holding his sodden shirt against the wound in her side. She squeezed carefully through the narrow door and I pulled a few of the furs from the couch onto the floor so that she could lie down on her uninjured side with her head resting on a cushion.

I pulled Bill to one side. “Bill, I know our blood can heal humans but what about other animals?” I asked softly. “Could it heal her?”

Bill looked blank. “I’ve no idea! I’ve never heard of anyone trying to heal anything other than humans.”

“We could try couldn’t we?” I asked. “It couldn’t do any harm…. could it?”

“I don’t know!”

I went over and sat down beside the dragon. She turned her head towards me curiously. “Listen, we’d like to try something that might help you, but we’re not sure that it’ll work. We’ll try just a little and see what happens, is that okay?”

 _“Please try, I’ll keep still, I promise”_ she said.

Bill came over somewhat reluctantly and sat beside me. “I really don’t know if this will work” he said doubtfully. “I’ll try a drop of my blood on the tear in the wing and see what happens.”

The dragon stretched her wing out in front of him and I heard a little grunt of pain. Bill carefully lined up the two edges of the tear and then bit into his wrist and allowed a few drops to fall onto the leathery black surface. We watched and, to my delight, the edges of the tear began to knit together. 

“Yes! It works!” I said excitedly.

We sat before the fire for another hour. I stroked the dragon’s neck while Bill carefully dripped his blood into the wound in her side. By the time it had healed completely she had closed her eyes and was resting quietly on the furs so Bill and I got up and slipped into the bedroom, leaving her to sleep.

~~~~~~~~

I sat quietly for a while in the doorway to our room watching the dragon, curled up on the fur rug before the fire, listening to its breathing. Alex had crawled into the furs. but I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of a dragon being in our cottage while we slept. However, in faery, our sleep was more normal than it was on earth where the sun forced us to rest. Here we could wake at any time so, once I was happy that the creature was asleep, I turned back to the bed.

Alex had pulled off her damp clothes and was sprawled on the pile of furs. She was naked and had a dark fur pulled up casually across one side of her body. There were two candles flickering beside the bed and in the dim light I could see a long pale thigh and one smooth breast emerging from the covering.

I was instantly hard and I shifted uncomfortably in my damp jeans as a small smile appeared on her face. She could feel my discomfort and knew the reason as well!

I stood in the doorway and watched her. I had spent decades with Lorena who had tried to teach me that pleasure could be obtained through pain, either by giving it or receiving it. Then Anastasia had spent four years teaching me everything she knew about the pleasure vampires could give and receive through sex, and believe me she knew everything there was to know! And yet this girl who was almost completely inexperienced when I had first met her had more of a hold over me than either of them.

I had left many women in my time. Lorena, I couldn't wait to leave. Anastasia.......I had been fond of her, I still was, but when the time had come for us to part I had left her with no regrets. So many women I had left without a thought, although I always tried to ensure that they remembered me kindly. But this one? The very idea that I might ever leave her was unthinkable. I knew that whatever turns my existence might take in the future, she would always be beside me. Once bound by the ties of love there is no other choice you can make.

She patted the fur beside her. “Are you coming to bed sweetie?” she whispered.

“Um.....I.....er.........” This was ridiculous! I had just faced down a dragon and now I'd been reduced to monosyllables by a strategically placed fur! I pulled myself together with an effort, wriggled out of my wet trousers and climbed onto the end of the bed. I placed a gentle kiss on her outstretched foot and began to work my way up her leg......


	10. Chapter 10

When I woke I knew exactly where I was this time. And it wasn't just because Bill was wrapped around me like an octopus. I hadn't been asleep for very long as it was still quite dark outside and Bill had I had made love for half the night. I sighed and shifted slightly, remembering the fire and passion of his lovemaking and felt his grip tighten around me as my happiness flowed into him through the blood bond.

As I lay dozing in his arms I heard a sound outside. Just a faint rustle but it startled me, there was never anyone else around our cottage. The Fae stayed away for fear of Mab's Vampire Ambassador.

I pulled on a dressing gown and hopped off the bed. The dragon was still sleeping peacefully before the remains of the fire, her head resting on a cushion. I opened the door and looked out. It was now just after dawn and the sun was still low in the sky giving everything a golden tint. The sun was in my eyes and it was a moment before I worked out exactly what I was looking at. A tree had appeared in front of the doorway, It had curiously scaly bark and five long roots running down into the soil like claws. Very like claws in fact……and was that another one further back? A vague suspicion began to kick at the edges of my sleepy brain and I looked up.

“Well, what’s going on out there?” asked Bill with a yawn.

“Um…..you know when we were talking last night about the dragon's accident and we thought she might be inexperienced and quite young?” I said carefully, glancing back into the cottage. “Well, we were right! Her mum’s arrived!”

Bill sat up, the furs slipping off his bare shoulders. “What?”

“I think you’d better come and take a look” I said, peering cautiously out of the doorway.

Bill swung his legs out from under the furs and pulled on his jeans. I felt him come up behind me and look out at the scene before our cottage. 

The adult dragon stood almost as tall as the little cottage Taller when the head was raised on the long neck, but just now the neck was lowered so that the head was on a level with mine. She, I assumed it was female, was covered in iridescent scales of varying sizes, large plate like scales over her back and haunches and getting smaller further down her legs, neck and her long flexible tail. The great leathery wings were folded across her back but there were flat plate like scales along the forward edge and horny spikes on the joints. Her head was similar to that of a horse but with two more horny spikes pointing backwards alongside the pointed ears. Her eyes were huge and multifaceted, swirling with a kaleidoscope of colours.

The scales appeared to be black, or dark blue but they shifted in the early morning sun with blues, purples and greens, each individual scale appearing to have a graduation of irridescent colour like the wing of a butterfly. I was mesmerised for a moment by the sheer beauty of the creature. Then she gave a snort and my hair flew back in a cloud with the force of her breath. I was enveloped in a hot, slightly sulphurous smell, snapping me back to the reality that I was standing before a creature which was probably extremely dangerous.

 _“You have my daughter! Where is she?”_

The voice was deeper and harsher but appeared in my head in exactly the same way as her daughter's had done.

“She’s….um…..inside. I’ll just go and get her!” I slipped back into the cottage and turned to what I now thought of as the baby dragon who was still sleeping peacefully before the fire. I squatted down beside her and stroked her scaly muzzle gently.

“Hey? wake up sweetie, your mother’s here.” I murmured.

Her enormous eyes opened and she looked up at me sleepily. _“Arzosah? She’s here?”_ She struggled clumsily to her feet.

I put out a hand to steady her. “Easy! How does it feel now?” I asked.

She flexed her shoulders and her wings extended a little stiffly. _“Good! It feels so much better now, thank you.”_ She stretched her head forward and nuzzled at my cheek. _“Thank you so much!”_

“Come on then” I led her out, careful to ensure she didn’t catch her wings on the door frame and she gave a squeak of pleasure and ran to the enormous creature standing outside. The huge dragon lowered her head and sniffed at her carefully.

“There Arzosah……see, she’s fine!” I said.

To my surprise Arzosah’s head shot up and she stared at me for a moment before turning back to the young dragon. _“You told her my name?”_ she hissed, sounding furious.

The little dragon took a step back. _“I didn’t mean to”_ she said _“it just slipped out!”_

Arzosah’s lips drew back in a snarl and she turned to where Bill and I were standing. _“I should kill you both right now!”_ she hissed angrily.

Bill promptly lost his temper. “What!” he snarled back, fangs drawn “What did we do? Other than take care of her for the night?” He stood before the huge creature, muscles tensed, ready to leap away if she made a move. 

She lowered her head to his level and glared at him, her brilliant jewelled eyes whirling. _“The knowledge of my name gives you power over me!”_

Bill's head jerked back in surprise. “It does? Well……..I’m Bill and this is Alex…if that helps?”

Arzosah pulled her head up and then lowered it again, examining Bill carefully. _“It works only for Dragonkind…..but I appreciate the gesture. To give your names freely implies trust. So….. you do not intend to attempt to enslave us then?”_

Bill burst out laughing at this. “Why on earth would I want to do that?” he asked. “What would I want with a dragon? Besides we don’t even live here, we’re only visiting. I can’t imagine taking you back to our world! I have quite enough weirdness to explain away as it is!”

During this conversation the young dragon had been rubbing against Arzosah’s leg and she turned her great head away from us and back to her daughter. They nuzzled each other for a moment and I got the impression they were talking, although I heard nothing. Seeing them together I could see clearly what I had failed to notice the previous day. The young dragon's head was shorter and somehow softer than Arzosah's and she lacked the spikes on the forward edges of her wings and her head.

Then Arzosah stepped back a little and lowered her great bulk to the ground, curling her long tail around her haunches like a cat and lowering her head until her lower jaw rested on the ground beside us.

There was a sound like a faint sigh. _“I owe you an apology Bill”_ she said. _“It seems that I have completely misunderstood the situation. My daughter has told me what you did for her. She was foolish and flew too far from me. She might have drowned in the lake if it were not for you. We are long lived creatures but even I have not seen a human in thousands of years, not since we were driven from your world. I assumed that you would behave like the humans in our old tales…..but I was wrong.”_

Bill glanced at me. “Well, we’re not exactly human actually.”

I felt, rather than heard, the deep rumble of her laughter. _“I thought not! I guessed that you were something more than human. Mab would not have allowed you to settle here otherwise.”_ She peered at Bill, examining him more closely. _“I had heard that the Winter Queen had appointed an ambassador to the human plane, a vampire……would that, perhaps, be you?”_

“Yes, that would be me” answered Bill.

_“Well Bill, this is my youngest, and most foolish daughter Nyassa.”_

Nyassa gave a little squeak. _“You said I should never give anyone my name!”_

Arzosah turned her great head towards her daughter and stared at her for a moment.

Nyassa looked down guiltily. _“But I didn't mean to do it mother, it was a mistake....”_

_“Well fortunately no harm has been done, but Bill deserves your name my daughter, you owe him service!”_

“I don't require service from anyone, neither you nor your daughter!” said Bill patiently. “I would be happy to help anyone who asks. But very few of the Fae will venture anywhere near us!”

She eyed Bill for a moment. _“I have heard the Fae talk of your kind, of vampires. They speak of you with fear and hatred. Why is this? You do not seem fearsome to me?”_

Bill sighed and sat down beside her. “Well, we feed on blood, and the blood of the Fae is especially......delicious....to us. Over many hundereds of years my kind hunted them almost to extinction, until they were driven to hide in this place.”

_“I see that you are honest as well as generous. I assume you have given Mab some kind of assurance that you will not harm her people?”_

“Yes, we have.”

_“But why would you wish to help her people with no thought of reward? This I find difficult to understand.”_

Bill spread out his arms. “What do you know of vampires Arzosah? In my world I have been condemned to live in darkness for centuries. The sun would destroy us and so we live only at night. But here, look.....I'm sitting in the sunlight with you, seeing the brilliant colours of your eyes, watching the sunlight reflected in the surface of the lake. This place is a miracle to me....” he glanced at me. “To us. And I would not do anything to jeopardise our welcome here. Quite the contrary, I want the inhabitants of this plane, you included, to trust me.”

Arzosah watched him thoughtfully, then Nyassa spoke up. _“Perhaps Bill could help him mother?”_

She snorted. _“I very much doubt if he would permit it.”_

Bill and I looked at each other, confused. “Who's he?” I asked.

Arzosah heaved a great sigh and I felt the ground tremble. _“She speaks of her father, Siriothrax. He is the greatest and most powerful of our race but for many years now he has been hindered by an old injury, it has made him angry and bitter. He was pierced by a weapon wielded by one of the Fae, a spear I think, he does not like to speak of it.”_ She moved her great head impatiently. _“He believes that there was some kind of magic on the blade, I tell him that he should leave the wound and not bite at it. Whatever the reason the wound has never healed.”_

“Well, I'd be happy to try. But I can't guarantee that I can help him” said Bill doubtfully.

_“I doubt that he would be willing to see you. He has become reclusive and unpredictable, I don't know why I still tolerate him!”_

I looked at Nyassa. “But he's her father?” I asked.

 _“Oh I tolerate him for that!”_ snorted Arzosah. _“He is still the oldest and strongest of our kind and quite capable of fighting off any other suitors. He can still outfly the others to mate with me. Naturally I would wish to have the strongest male to sire my children.”_ She studied me curiously. _“Is this not so in your world?”_

I looked over at Bill who was clearly struggling to keep a straight face. “Well, yes! Of course!” I said firmly.

Bill blinked. “Well........I guess I'd fight off anyone else who wanted to mate with you!” he said solemnly. 

Arzosah eyed him approvingly. _“That is good!”_ she declared. _“I shall speak with him. If you can help him then I, at least, will be very grateful to you.”_


	11. Chapter 11

I had to be back in London two nights later for my meeting with Professor Hulton. 

Bill and I had sat on the stone bench outside the cottage after the two dragons had left, staring after them into the distance.

“Do you think she'll come back?” I asked.

“I don't know. I rather hope so don't you?” he said. “They are the most incredible creatures I've ever seen in all my years on this earth. And I've seen a few!”

He turned to me. “You realise that we must be the only people to have seen them in thousands of years! Even Lilith believed that they were extinct.”

“Lilith knew about them?” I asked, surprised.

“She told me once that they existed on earth in the far distant past, but that she hadn't seen any for millennia. She said......” He paused for a moment, thinking. “She said that they were the children of a Sea Goddess from Babylon. Tiamat, she called her.”

“So they came here. I wonder why?”

We had explained to Arzosah that we only visited occasionally and she had agreed that if she could persuade Siriothrax to visit they would come ten days from now. I had to admit that I was looking forward to it, albeit a little nervously. But for now we had to get back to London.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry dropped me off outside the entrance to the British Museum on Great Russell Street. He had arranged to pick me up in an hour's time. Bill had wanted to come with me but I had refused. 

“Come on Bill!” I said. “This is my job! You have to trust me to do it on my own.”

“Of course I trust you, I just want to be with you that's all.”

“I'll tell you all about it when I get back I promise!” 

I smiled to myself. I knew that he was worried about me after what had happened in Cairo. After that he hadn't even liked to let me go to the bathroom by myself. Well, he was just going to have to get over it!

I walked into the foyer and went up to the desk. There was a young woman sitting behind a computer who turned to me with a smile.

“Can I help you Madam?” she asked brightly.

“I've got an appointment with Professor Paul Hulton” I said. “Could you page him please?”

“Of course!” she rapidly typed a few words on her keyboard. “You'll be Mrs Compton?”

“That's right.” I looked around the foyer with interest seeing advertisements for two upcoming exhibitions, one on the Vikings, centred around a huge Viking warship dating from about 1025, and one on the Ming Dynasty of China. I was examining the list of exhibits when I heard a voice behind me.

“Mrs Compton! It's nice to meet you.” 

I turned and saw Professor Hulton come in from the Great Court which led to the reading room. He was a tall man, a bit over six feet but with a slight stoop. He had wispy white hair and kind blue eyes and a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles was balanced precariously on the end of his nose.

I smiled back and shook his outstretched hand. I had not yet become accustomed to the vampire custom of avoiding physical contact with humans. I noticed a slight hesitation as he felt the chill of my flesh but he smiled and gestured to my left leading me through the halls of the Museum into the Middle Eastern section. We walked through galleries whose walls were lined with relief carvings on broad stone panels from Assyrian palaces. Through a wide doorway flanked by the colossal stone statues in the shape of winged, human headed lions which formed the gates of the palace of Ashurbanipal II at Nimrud, known as the Balawat Gates.

We passed through the Assyrian Galleries into those containing panels from Mesopotamia and Ur. I paused before one object in a glass case. It was small compared to the huge stone panels, only about fifteen by twenty inches, and was made of baked clay modelled in high relief. It pictured a naked woman wearing the horned headdress which my research had informed me was characteristic of a Mesopotamian deity. She held a rod and a ring and her long wings pointed downwards indicating that she was a goddess of the underworld. Her slim legs ended in the talons of a bird of prey.

Professor Hulton turned back seeing that I had stopped to inspect the plaque.

“Ah!” he pushed his glasses higher on his nose and peered into the case. “The Queen of the Night!”

“Who is she?” I asked curiously.

“Well, we're not really sure” he admitted. “The figure could represent an aspect of the goddess Ishtar, or her sister Ereshkigal who ruled over the underworld. Or it could be the demoness Lilitu.”

He turned to look at me. “She was known in the Bible as Lilith. The background to the plaque was originally painted black suggesting that she was associated with the night, hence the name.” 

He was watching me with a purely academic interest and appeared to have absolutely no idea of the connection between Lilith and vampires. I looked at the scaly talons and thought of Lily in her Christian Louboutin heels and it was all I could do to keep a straight face.

He gestured through the next doorway. “My office is this way.”

Professor Hulton's office proved to be strangely reminiscent of my own. There were piles of books everywhere and a couple of crates containing objects packed in straw. On top of a bookcase I saw a collection of stone vases and mortars and in one corner stood a replica of the statue of Artemis from the Temple at Ephesus. I smiled to myself, thinking that it looked nothing like the real thing.

A shallow tray lay on the desk, lined with cotton wool and containing several broken pieces of flat baked clay. They were covered in angular markings which had been pressed into the clay when it was wet and then baked hard. I recognised it as cuneiform script. Next to it stood a small figurine about eight inches high and carved from ivory. It represented a man wearing a long robe and holding a staff in his hand. His long hair flowed down his back and a long oiled beard came halfway down his chest.

“As you have probably guessed my particular interest is in ancient Mesopotamia” he said with a smile.

“Well…..we have a first edition of Woolley’s “Ur of the Chaldees” I said, watching his eyes light up. “We might even have some of his original sketches somewhere….”

“I would be particularly interested in anything you might have which throws light on the Babylonian creation myth, the Enûma Eliš?” he asked hopefully, pulling up a chair for me. 

“That's not something I know much about I'm afraid” I said. 

His eyes lit up with the fire of the true enthusiast. “Oh it's fascinating. Several versions exist, the most complete from Ashurbanipal's library dating from the 7th Century BCE but the story itself probably dates back to the Bronze Age, about 1800 BCE, to the time of Hammurabi.”

“Oh, I've heard of him!” I put in, anxious to keep up. “He codified a system of laws?”

“That's right.” The professor smiled at me. “You've done some research then?”

“Just a little!” I laughed.

“Well the story tells of the great God Marduk and the creation of the world from primeval chaos. It names two original Gods Apsû, who represents fresh waters and Tiamat, the Goddess of the seas.”

Tiamat? I thought, I've heard that name before somewhere.

“These two join and Tiamat births a new generation of Gods. I'm sure you can read up the rest if you're interested but the short version is that Apsû is killed and Tiamat turns against the other Gods to avenge her husband. Marduk offers to deal with her if the other Gods will accept him as their leader. Marduk defeats her and cuts her body into two, making the earth from one half and the skies from the other.”

The Professor paused. “This could be said to represent the triumph of order over chaos or even that of men over an originally matriarchal society, but it has interesting parallels with various other creation myths, not least the Jewish story of Genesis.” 

He sat back and quoted from memory. _"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters”_

“The Egyptians too” I said. “Their creation myths have their Gods arising from the waters of chaos.”

The name Tiamat was nagging at me. “What did she look like?” I asked curiously.

“She is most often described as a sea serpent or a dragon” he replied. “Although there are no texts which give such a description she is described in the Enûma Eliš as giving birth to dragons and serpents.”

Of course! Bill had said that Tiamat was the Goddess that Lily had mentioned. She had called her the Mother of Dragons. I remembered wondering why the dragons had left our world, perhaps this was the reason. Had they fled when their mother was destroyed by Marduk?

We talked for about half an hour and I was able to find, in the catalogue which I had on my tablet, several volumes which Professor Hulton had seen reference to in the ancient writings, but which were thought to have been lost. Since this was only a small fraction of what we held he became quite excited at the thought of what else we might have. I knew there were several side rooms containing cuneiform tablets but, since I could not read this yet, I had no idea what they were and I agreed to allow Professor Hulton to visit the Library and take a look on condition that he would teach me to read the script.

He seemed astounded at this request. “Well......of course I'll be happy to try, but you must understand Mrs Compton that this is a long dead language. It's not going to be as easy as you might think.”

I smiled to myself. “Oh I think you'll be surprised Professor, I have quite a talent for languages!”

He nodded. “Very well. Oh and please, call me Paul.”

I held out a hand. “Please call me Alex!”

We shook hands again on our agreement and he showed me out to where Harry was waiting in the car to take me home.


	12. Chapter 12

The next evening I was walking from the Library over to the Authority's main conference rooms to meet Bill. I was heading down a corridor when a door opened and Olivier came out.

“Alex! Hi” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I'm just on my way to meet Bill” I explained. “What are you doing here? Come to that, what's here?” I asked curiously, peering over his shoulder through the door which appeared to open into some kind of laboratory.

Olivier looked surprised. “You've never been here before?” he asked. “But this was your idea wasn't it?”

“I've been busy in the Library with Rahotep” I explained. Then the meaning of what he had said sunk in. “Wait! You mean this is where they're doing the research on the blood?”

He opened the door and gestured to me to enter. “Come on in, I'll introduce you.”

I walked into the room to see two men arguing over a bench containing a convoluted piece of glass apparatus. One of the two, a small dapper little man with a neatly trimmed dark beard turned to Olivier. 

“Look, I've told you I'm no good at that sort of thing. All the lab assistants are working out fine but I absolutely refuse to complete staff evaluations on them. I have enough trouble remembering their names! I can point out the people who annoy me more than the others but that's about as useful as I get!”

Olivier held up a hand. “Yes, yes okay! I understand Dr Pasteur, I'll deal with it.”

He turned back to me “Alex, this is Dr Louis Pasteur who is leading our research team. Dr Pasteur, this is Alexandra Compton. She persuaded the High Council that this research would be better done by us than humans.”

Dr Pasteur examined me for a moment. “Hmmm......very sensible of you my dear.” He looked around for the other man. “This is my assistant, Dr Jenner.”

My mouth fell open. “Dr Jenner? Dr Edward Jenner?” I asked.

The man turned to me with a smile. “At your service Ma'am!” 

“Crawler” said Pasteur quietly. I ignored him.

“You're really the man who discovered how to vaccinate against smallpox?” I said in a stunned voice.

“That's right” he said. “It became obvious to me as a countryman that milkmaids who often suffered from the milder form of cowpox, never caught smallpox. There had to be something which was protecting them.”

“It wasn't a particularly acceptable theory at the time though” muttered Pasteur. “Inoculating people with material from a diseased animal didn't go down too well! Leeches were a far more popular treatment.”

“In science being popular doesn't make you right” snapped Jenner. “Come to that, being right doesn't necessarily make you popular either. Galileo was right and look what happened to him!”

Olivier grinned at me. “Can I leave you to show Mrs Compton what you're doing here Dr Pasteur?”

He waved a hand. “Sure, I'll explain our research.......you go off and sort out your administration....” he turned to me and took my arm. “Now then, how much do you know about biology Mrs Compton?” he asked.

“I'm a quick learner.......”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several hours later I was back in the apartment. I'd missed Bill and had a bit of explaining to do when I finally got home, but he'd forgiven me and we were curled up together in the modern four poster bed just before dawn. I was stroking his stomach and attempting to explain Dr Pasteur's research.

"Well, what do you know about cell division Bill? I guess they didn't teach that to you at school huh?" I asked.

Bill gave me a look. "My father insisted I learn to read and write but that was about it. I've learned very much more since mind you......"

"You know about chromosomes right? Every cell in our bodies has twenty three pairs of chromosomes each containing the genes which determine what we are. When a cell divides it has to replicate each one. What happens is that the pair unwinds and each chromosome makes a copy of itself, but it has a short piece of RNA which it uses to start the process and so a couple of base pairs are left off at the end, therefore the new chromosome is a tiny bit shorter than the old one. Well that would be no good because you'd lose vital information with each replication so each one has things called telomeres at the ends which are like bits of blank DNA. They've been compared to those little plastic bits on the ends of shoelaces that stop them from unravelling. So every time the cell divides the telomere gets a bit shorter until eventually it disappears and the cell isn't able to divide any more without losing bits of DNA and degrading, that's what ageing is....."

"Okay.....so there's a limit to how many times a cell can divide?" said Bill doubtfully.

"That's right, except for certain specialised cells. Stem cells, some white blood cells, and I believe cancer cells too.....they produce an enzyme called telomerase which enables them to grow extra bits on the telomeres to keep them going so they can carry on dividing....well, indefinitely. What Dr Pasteur has discovered is that vampire blood contains extremely high levels of telomerase."

Bill's brilliant blue eyes lit up at this and I could see that he had immediately understood the implications.

"You mean that our cells can keep dividing perfectly, that they are effectively immortal?" he asked.

"Apparently, yes." I said. "He thinks it also goes some way to explain why we don't suffer from any human diseases as the ability to produce infinite numbers of new cells can heal any damage caused by infection or disease before it can get started. He's not sure why it should cause such rapid healing both in ourselves and in humans though. The healing is much too fast to be explained simply by cell division. 

Bill smiled. "That'll be the magic then." he said.

I frowned. "Well there must be something else to explain the reaction to sunlight and silver......but it's certainly interesting, isn't it?"

However by this point his interest appeared to have drifted to the patterns I was tracing on his stomach with my fingertips.

“Mmm......fascinating” he murmured, arching his back a little and trying to encourage my hand to move down to where his rapidly hardening shaft was growing to meet me. He gave a sigh and laid his head back on the pillows as my fingers brushed over the sensitive tip.

“Lost interest in genetics?” I asked softly.

His eyes flickered open. “No.....no, not at all. It's extremely interesting. It's just a little difficult to concentrate, that's all.”

“Oh, I'm sorry” I whispered, my hand brushing down his length and cupping him gently. “Should I stop?”

His brilliant azure eyes locked on mine. “What do you think?” he asked huskily, his own fingers tracing equally exotic patters over my hip and down my thigh as he leaned over to plant a gentle kiss on my shoulder. 

At the touch of his lips I lost interest in genetics myself and curled my hand tighter around him........

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following night I took Bill with me to visit Dr Pasteur's lab and, at his suggestion, we left him with a sample of my blood to test.

We returned the next night to to find him peering down a microscope.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to help you with this Chancellor. There's something different there, definitely. But it degrades rapidly once outside the body and cannot be reproduced I'm afraid" he said, shaking his head sadly.

"That's a shame" murmured Bill from behind him, licking his lips ostentatiously at me. "It's delicious!" he whispered.

I glared at him. "Behave!" I mouthed quietly, but Dr Pasteur hadn't noticed, he was back at his microscope.


	13. Chapter 13

Ten days after watching Arzosah and Nyassa fly away we were sitting on the stone bench outside the cottage and Bill was distracting me with kisses when I spotted something far out over the lake.

“Bill..... Bill! Stop that! Look over there!” I pointed to where two shapes were heading our way.

He looked up reluctantly and then lifted me off his lap and stood up, raising a hand to shade his eyes. The gesture was so unlikely for a vampire that I almost laughed. We watched as two fully grown dragons swept over the lake towards us. One, I thought I recognised as Arzosah, her blue-black colours shimmering in the sunlight but the other looked quite different. It was even larger and gleamed like polished bronze. This must be Siriothrax.

We stood beside the cottage door as the pair of dragons sank to the ground before us the powerful back-draught of their wings almost knocking me off my feet. Arzosah had landed closer to us and she lowered her head to greet us. Siriothrax stood back a little, his head up, watching her. His scales were a deep bronze colour fading to a pale gold on his belly just as Arzosah's faded to a paler blue on hers. Each individual scale was edged with a deep green giving an effect rather like the patina you saw on ancient bronze or copper vessels. 

_“Greetings my friends. This is my mate, the eldest of our race”_ said Arzosah's voice in our minds.

I noticed that she had avoided using either our names or his. I glanced at Bill hoping that he had noticed and would not refer to Siriothrax by name since it appeared that we were not supposed to know it. I shouldn't have worried. Bill's experience with Lily and Mab had only served to enhance his natural diplomacy.

“Greetings my Lady. We are honoured to meet you both.”

Arzosah nodded, her jewelled eyes swirling a little faster in appreciation of his courtesy. She moved slightly to one side and Siriothrax stepped forward. His eyes were darker and somehow considerably less friendly than hers.

 _“My lady informs me that you healed our youngest daughter when she had an unfortunate accident over the lake here?”_ The voice was rich and deep, if somewhat impatient. _“She seems to think that you might be able to assist me as well.”_

“We would be happy to help you if we can” said Bill.

The great dragon sighed and lowered himself carefully to the ground. He stretched out the wing on his right side, resting it on the ground. _“The wound she told you of is beneath the joint under the wing”_ he said.

Bill stepped carefully around the wing and up to the dragon's side. I followed him and almost gagged as I came around the edge of the wing. Beneath the wing joint was a deep festering wound and the smell was enough to turn my stomach. Bill saw my face and said hurriedly. “Why don't you go and boil some water Alex, I'll need to clean this!”

I beat a hasty retreat back into the cottage and lit the fire in the hearth. There was still an old kettle beside the hearth which I had used to boil water for my tea and hadn't bothered to take back to the Mill House. I picked it up and went back outside to see that Arzosah had settled down with her head between her front legs and her tail curled around her like a great cat and was watching Bill with interest. 

I filled the kettle from the lake and hung it from the hook over the fire then took one of the old cotton pillowcases off the bed and began to tear it into strips. By the time the kettle boiled I had a pile of cotton cloths and I took them and the kettle back out to Bill.

“I'm going to clean this up a little, is that okay?” he asked, pouring hot water onto a cloth.

The dragon turned his head and laid it on the ground so that he could watch Bill. _“Go ahead”_ he answered.

I saw him flinch slightly as Bill began to carefully clean out the wound but he made no other move. I collected the pieces of soiled cloth in a basket, took them back into the cottage and threw them on the fire. After about ten minutes the wound was, at least, clean and the smell of the rotting flesh was gone. It looked deep though and the edges were blackened and dry as though it had been there a long time. I remembered Arzosah had said the wound had been inflicted a long time ago. 

“Alex” Bill waved a hand, “would you come over here a moment?”

I saw that he was gently pressing the flesh on either side of the wound. The area was covered in tiny scales and I realised that, apart from the belly, it was one of the few spots which was not protected by thick horny armour. Whoever had struck him here had done it deliberately, aiming for one of the few vulnerable spots on his tough hide.

“Feel this!” he put my hand on the side of the wound and I pushed gently. I could just feel something hard, deep under the skin. 

“Is that a rib?” I asked.

“I don't think so, look the ribs run here and here....” he indicated the curve of the dragon's chest which was rising and falling gently with its slow breathing. “I think the wound hasn't healed because there's something still in there.”

I noticed his hand was bloody and he gently eased his fingers back into the wound. “But I can't reach it. I can just feel something but I can't get a grip on it. Your hands are smaller than mine......you try!”

I looked back to see Siriothrax watching me carefully, his dark eyes looked filled with pain but he made no sound. I washed my hands quickly in the hot water left in the kettle and slipped my fingers inside the gaping wound. Bill put his hands on the flesh on either side, holding it open as far as he could. My slimmer wrist was able to probe deeper and I felt my fingertips brush against something hard. I took a deep breath and pushed my hand deeper, feeling Siriothrax shiver as I gripped the hard edge. 

“Can you feel anything?” asked Bill urgently.

“Yes, there's something.....” I pulled gently and felt resistance. “I think it's barbed. The flesh is tight around it, I can pull it out but it'll hurt like hell!”

We both turned to look at Siriothrax. He glared back at us, his dark eyes angry. _“You think perhaps I cannot bear a little pain!”_ he snarled. _“Whatever this is, it has been buried in my flesh for decades and I want it out!”_ His glare softened a little as he concentrated his gaze on me. _“Please! Do it!”_

Bill shifted unobtrusively, placing himself between me and the dragon's great jaws.

“You heard him. Do it” he said.

I shifted my fingers slightly to get a better grip and pulled. I could feel the barbs tearing at the flesh but I continued to pull steadily and felt the object move.

Siriothrax raised his head and roared as it tore through his flesh but he didn't move and the further out it came the easier it was until my hand emerged from the wound holding a long, leaf shaped blade made of some dark metal smeared with blood.

Siriothrax gave a great sigh and laid his head back on the ground as I carefully wiped up the fresh blood oozing from the wound with a clean cloth. As I washed the blood from my hands Bill bit into his wrist and allowed some of his own blood to run into the wound. We watched carefully but nothing appeared to happen. Bill tried again but still we could see no effect, the wound remained open.

“That's odd” said Bill sounding puzzled. “It worked for Nyassa.”

“Perhaps........because she's young?” I hazarded. “She's still growing?”

“Maybe......after all I doubt any vampire has ever tried to heal a dragon before!” he said. 

He turned to look into the great dark eyes. “I'm sorry but it appears I have failed you.”

We stepped back and Siriothrax heaved himself to his feet, stretching out his wing with a hiss of discomfort. _“The weapon that wounded me is gone. The wound still pains me but it is vastly better than it was”_ he said. _“I am most grateful to you, vampire.”_

He looked down at us thoughtfully. _“Arzosah tells me that you gave her your names freely as an expression of trust. After your efforts to help me I can do nothing less. I am Siriothrax, the eldest of our kind.”_

We nodded trying not to show that we knew this already as Arzosah watched us with a tiny smile curling on her lip.

“We are honoured by your trust Siriothrax” said Bill formally. “I am William and this is Alexandra.....” he paused for a moment “......my mate.”

 _“I am in your debt”_ said Siriothrax, equally formally. _“Should I ever be able to assist you the Winter Queen can find me.”_


	14. Chapter 14

I puzzled for some time over why my blood was unable to heal Siriothrax. After the dragons had left, Alex and I took a closer look at the object she had removed from his side. When the blood was cleaned off we could see Fae characters etched onto the blade and Alex could sense something. She described it as a faint humming sensation when she held her hand over it so possibly Siriothrax's theory that there was Fae magic on it might have been correct. We debated taking it back to the Museum but without knowing exactly what the spell was we considered that it was safer to leave it in Faery.

Our failure only made Alex more determined to learn to read the Fae language but the difficulty was finding something to get her started. Somehow the subject had never come up when we spoke with Queen Mab......

About a week later I was distracted from this puzzle by a call from Dr Wilson. It was a moment before I recalled the name. He was the psychiatrist from the veteran's charity with whom I had discussed the possible use of glamour to help victims of post traumatic stress disorder.

“Mr Compton? I'm hoping you remember me?” he said hopefully.

“Yes, of course Dr Wilson. You were hoping to find a volunteer who'd be prepared to talk to me about their experiences.....someone that we could test out our theory on.”

“That's right. Well, I think I've found someone for you. His name's Douglas Sandford. I've been seeing him for some time but we don't appear to be making much progress with the usual therapies. He was in Iraq for three tours of duty but something happened on the last one, something that he doesn't want to talk about......or even think about. I explained to him who, and what, you are and what you might be able to do for him but at first he wasn't particularly keen on the idea. It was only when I explained that you were a war veteran yourself that he began to warm to the idea. He was certainly surprised when I told him it was the American Civil War, but he's agreed to meet you. What do you think?”

“Well, you know him doctor. Do you think I might be able to help him?” I asked.

There was a silence while Dr Wilson considered this. “He's in a bad way Mr Compton. I'd really rather that you tried this on someone...... well, easier isn't a good word, but you know what I mean? Someone less damaged.........first. Unfortunately, he's the only one who's prepared to give it a try.”

“Very well. Will you bring him here?” 

“No. He wants to do this himself. If you could give me the address?”

I gave him the address of the Authority's headquarters and arranged to meet Lt. Sandford in the foyer at nine the following evening.

He arrived promptly on time. A tall, sandy haired man. Calm and competent looking, the only indications of any problem were the dark rings under his eyes. I introduced myself and we walked back downstairs to our apartment, making polite, inconsequential small talk.

Although I had mentioned this to Alex when I first suggested teaching her the art of glamour, I had decided that, for this first session at least, she should not be present. She was in the apartment but I had asked her to stay in her office until we were finished. I poured Doug a whiskey and he sat down on the couch looking extremely uncomfortable.

“The Doc told me you're a veteran of the Civil War?” he said curiously taking a swig of the harsh spirit.

“That's right.” I sat opposite him and began to tell him of an incident that I had used once before to illustrate the horrors of the war. Of how an old friend of mine had been shot by a Northern sniper in the woods only twenty miles or so from our home town when he tried to rescue a boy who was lying, injured, in a field under poor cover. I had argued with him, trying to dissuade him from attempting to rescue the boy, but he wouldn't listen to me. The guilt I had felt then over his death was just as painful now as it had been on the day he died.

Doug had been avoiding my eyes until this point but, after hearing this story he looked up and I caught his gaze.

“Tell me about your last tour of duty in Iraq” I instructed softly.

He began to talk about his friends while I pulled him under my influence so gently that he hardly noticed. Under my careful direction he described the other members of his squad, their nicknames, their annoying habits, how they would sit about for hours in the compound talking about their wives or girlfriends or trying to chat up the female chaplain and then would go out on duty to man checkpoints, constantly on the lookout for snipers or roadside bombs. Eventually he ran out of ideas and sat with the glass of whiskey held between his knees. Then, without me having to ask him, he began to tell me about his last mission.

“We'd been given information about a Taliban stronghold in Northern Iraq in the mountains near the border with Iran. Our team of six were dropped in the previous evening, everything was set up and we arrived just as it was getting dark. The target was a long, low building on the far side of the village, on the edge of the fields. Our intel said that there was a stockpile of weapons in the building but when we got there we discovered to our horror that it was a school. The air strike had already been called in as we approached, before we realised who was inside. We had approached from the front of the building but there were doors to the rear where the fields opened up into the foothills of the mountain. We tried to drive the children out before it was too late but they wouldn't leave, they were terrified. Not of us, but of something else.”

He was speaking in the dull monotone of someone who was deep under our glamour and his expression was completely blank but the tears poured down his cheeks as he spoke. “ I grabbed a little boy, he couldn't have been more than five years old and dragged him out, but as soon as I released him he ran straight back inside. Then we heard the helicopters and we had to run.”

He paused for a moment, then whispered. “There must have been more than just guns in there, munitions, explosives of some kind because as soon as the first missile hit the place went up like a bomb..........no one could have survived. I could hear them..... screaming....... but they could have got away if only they'd run! We'd have let them go. Why didn't they run?” he wept.

“Why do you think?” I asked. “You know the answer don't you?”

Doug sat frozen, caught in the glamour. He knew, he just didn't want to admit it. I could feel him fighting but my power over him was too strong.

“It was the mountain. They wouldn't go any nearer to the mountain. Our source, the one who had told us about the place.......he had told us that they wouldn't run away. We knew, but we hadn't cared at the time, we thought it would be a good thing. That we could kill some of the enemy at the same time as destroying the munitions. But he didn't tell us about the children.”

“Did he say why they were so afraid of the mountain?” I asked curiously.

“They said that the sacred mountain held the tomb of a God.”

I shook my head, stunned at the thought that people could use superstition to instil such terror into their children that they would rather risk death than dare to encroach on ground that they considered sacred. I sighed sadly and studied the threads of Doug's terrible memories, gently tugging at them and removing those relating to the children, since this was clearly the source of his pain. When I had finished his memories of the school were merely of an unidentified building occupied only by soldiers of the opposing forces.

“So how do you feel Doug?” I asked, releasing the glamour.

He blinked and looked back into my eyes, nodding thoughtfully. “Good, I guess talking about it really did help. Hearing your experiences of the Civil War........somehow, I don't feel quite so bad about my experiences now. It still.... well....” he laughed. “I don't think I'm cured or anything. But I feel better. Is it okay if I come back? Talk with you again?”

“Of course, if you think it will help you?” I said.

He stared at me for a moment, considering something. “Mr Compton......I volunteered for this because I wanted to please Dr Wilson. He's done a lot to try and help us. I've tried a lot of different therapies but nothing has had much effect until now. There are others.....guys who were in my unit.......”

“They went on the same missions?” I asked.

“Yeah......” I saw a brief flicker of the old pain in his eyes for a moment and then it was gone “.....and, well some of 'em are in a really bad way. They won't even see a therapist at all. Psych evaluations in the Army were a bad idea, you know?”

He was gazing at me with a strange intensity. He was a strong man, self sufficient, I could see that he didn't want to ask for my help, he had always been the one who helped others.

“If you can persuade them to come with you I would be happy to see them, talk with them.” I said quietly.

He knew that I had used my glamour on him but he didn't like to speak of it. I could understand that, he was not a man who put himself under the control of others lightly. I knew that he had volunteered out of respect for Dr Wilson, but he had also been desperate, the terrible memories had taken over his life, made him afraid to sleep because his dreams took him back there.

He stood up briskly and took my hand in a powerful grip. “I'll try....thank you Mr Compton.”

I saw him out of the building and walked slowly back to the apartment, where Alex and Lily found me about half an hour later still sitting on the sofa and thinking about Doug's story.

“Hi sweetie!” Alex came and sat down beside me. “How did it go?”

“Okay, I think. Quite well in fact.... As we had hoped there was one particular incident at the root of his trauma. Hopefully, now that I've removed that, he should start to recover.”

“Bill?” she peered at me closely. “Are you okay?”

I should have known better than to think I could fool her. She was very perceptive and knew me better than anyone. “It wasn't an easy story to listen to.....” I said, hoping that she wouldn't ask for details.

“Oh Bill!” she leaned forward and kissed me gently. “You know, I'm going to wonder if this is a good idea if this is going to happen.”

I blinked and looked up at her. “If what's going to happen?” I asked.

“You want to heal these men, I know that, but to do it you have to take their pain on yourself.”

I sat up straighter and shook myself. “No.....no not really. It's going to be difficult to listen to these stories, but I always knew that it would be. But I'm only hearing them second hand, it's just a story to me, it's not as if I was there. They actually had to live it.”

I pulled her into my lap and kissed her. “Terrible things happen in war, I've always known that. They always have and they always will.”

“Something's bothering you though. What is it?” she asked.

“It was just something he mentioned about the area his mission was in. The locals had told him that they believed the sacred mountain behind the village held the tomb of a God. How can a God have a tomb? Gods are immortal.”

I glanced over at Lilith who sat curled on the couch. “Is that possible?”

“That is possible” she murmured. “Gods do not die easily, they fade away holding on grimly for millennia, but they can be killed. They cannot usually be harmed by mortals but they can be killed.”

“By another God!” said Alex in that tone of voice that I had come to recognise as meaning that she had made a discovery. “Osiris was killed by his brother Set. Zeus killed his father Cronos, or at least banished him to Tartarus which probably amounts to much the same thing. And Professor Hulton was telling me only the other day the story of how Marduk killed the sea Goddess Tiamat.”

Lilith smiled at her. “Yes, I remember her! You are too clever for your own good sometimes. This is not something that Gods wish to be generally known!”

“It's not generally known that they even exist at all!” answered Alex. “But don't worry, I'll keep it to myself......”

“So would this be in Iraq?” she asked. 

“The mountains on the border of Iraq and Iran.” I answered.

“Difficult to get to then?”

“Impossible for all practical purposes at the moment, for humans at least.” I said. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just curiosity” she said lightly. “I've been reading up on the mythology of the area. Professor Hulton's a bit of an expert and he'd be interested in anything new I might find in the Library.”

I should have known she'd be researching something. “Most humans, other than historians or archaeologists, probably know very little about Sumerian or Babylonian Gods” I said.

“Well, other than the fact that they tried to destroy New York by means of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man” said Alex solemnly.

Lily and I looked at her blankly for a moment and then I got it and began to laugh. I reached over and patted Lily's hand. “Modern, pop culture reference there Lily!” I said with a smile. “You must get on with that list of movies I gave you......”


	15. Chapter 15

The next evening I woke to hear the shower running and stretched luxuriously in the big four poster bed. After a few moments Bill came back into the bedroom naked and rubbing at his hair with a towel. I watched him for a moment, my eyes running over the clean sculpted lines of his body. He sat down on the edge of the bed and smiled at me.

“Hey sleepy! Come over here....” he reached out his hand and I wriggled out from under the quilt and crawled over to him. He pulled me into his lap and kissed me. I put my hands on his shoulders and slid down until I was kneeling in front of him, between his spread thighs. My fingertips trailed down his chest and stomach as I sat back on my heels and gazed up at him in wonder. He was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. The long, straight nose and high cheekbones, clear, strong brows over those brilliant sparkling blue eyes.

This new life he had brought me into, although frightening at first, was now a source of wonder to me. I was not sure that, having lived so long and seen so much, he had the ability to feel this wonder anymore. Well, except where I'm concerned. For some reason I appeared to be a source of wonder to him. He is unlike any other creature I have ever met, and I love him. And I know without a doubt that he loves me. We are bound together he and I, I can feel it. 

He was watching me as I knelt before him and I suddenly remembered the first night when I woke after being turned. He had carried me into the shower to wash off the dirt from when we had slept in the ground together and he had held back from me for fear of influencing me as my maker. I smiled to myself and bent my head, feeling him shiver as my long hair brushed gently against his bare thighs. Then against the tip of the stiff, pale column of flesh which had appeared between them and was pressing urgently against his stomach.

I lowered my head further and curled my tongue around him, licking gently at the swollen tip of his manhood.

“Mmm.....you like that?” I murmured as he leaned back on his hands.

His vivid eyes locked on mine. “Oh yes.....” he whispered softly. “Please don't stop.....”

I pulled back and looked up at him teasingly. “You want me to serve you....master?”

“As.......” he gasped and bit his lip “.........I command you!”

I smiled again. He was determined not to say it, not to force me to obey him, but he really, really wanted to...... I took pity on him and leaned forward again, sealing my lips around him and sliding them down his stiff shaft until the tip was pressed against the back of my throat.

His hands fastened convulsively on my shoulders and I could feel the tension in his body as he struggled not to give in to the instinct to drive himself further into my mouth. For the next few minutes I explored the different sensations I could produce using my lips, my tongue and even the tips of my fangs, while Bill clung to my shoulders, his eyes closed, his feet braced on the floor until eventually he could hold back no longer and I heard a deep growl as I felt him convulse in my mouth, his essence pumping down my throat.

The grip of his fingers on my shoulders loosened as he relaxed and I curled my tongue around him, drawing it along his length as he pulled back, causing him to stiffen again. He leaned back on his hands and I stood up and quickly asked “and what would 'Sir' require now?” before he could start to apologise!

I was wearing a thin silky nightdress that just about covered my buttocks so it was only too easy for him to slide it up and pull me onto his lap where he began kissing me determinedly. His normally bright, clear eyes had darkened with lust. “Trust me, you don't want to know.....” he whispered.

“But I do Bill!” I said. “I want to please you, I love to please you. And now I can, I'm not that shy, frail little girl anymore.”

He kissed me again with all the tenderness I was so accustomed to. “To me.......you'll always be that little girl Alex. I know that you're far stronger and more powerful now. You're sufficiently respected to have a seat on the High Council of the Authority, but in my mind......you're still that shy, frail little human girl I fell in love with.” He lifted me up and pulled me closer until I was kneeling astride his hips, my stomach pressed tight against his. “You always please me. You always have and you always will. Please don't think you have to be any different now.” He slid a hand around to the back of my head and held me still while he kissed me again. The tips of the fingers on his other hand working their way down to stroke me and probe gently between my legs. His other hand came down and moved around my waist, pinning me firmly against him, my taut nipples rubbing against the hair on his sculpted chest.

I braced my knees against the bed and raised myself up a little, steadying myself with a hand on his hard shoulder and felt the tip of his shaft slip inside me. Both his strong hands moved to my waist and pulled me down slowly but firmly, his manhood swelling further as he drove himself up inside me.

“Oh.......Bill!” I laid my head on his shoulder as he locked his arms around my body and began to move slowly, stretching me as I spread my knees wider, wanting to take as much of him as possible. At first, since I was pressed closely against him, the pleasure was so intense I couldn't think about anything else. Then gradually I got a grip on myself, remembering what he had taught me and I began to consciously tighten my grip on him, squeezing him and increasing the delicious friction. He gave another deep growl and began to move faster and harder until my muscles were clenching and spasming around him involuntarily as I clung helplessly to his shoulders, shaking with the intensity of my climax. I bent my head until my face was buried in his hair. The sharp, citrus smell of the shampoo filled my nostrils as I pressed my lips against his throat and then bit down for a taste of his delicious, rich blood.

As I had known it would, this pushed Bill over the edge and he gave a snarl that seemed to have been pulled up from his very core as he lifted me off the bed in a final thrust before he collapsed underneath me.

After a moment or two he rolled over into a more comfortable position, still holding me in his arms, my legs locked around his hips. We lay there for another moment before realising that the ringing noise I had imagined was in my head, was in fact the phone.

Bill reached over and picked it up and I heard Ulrich's voice. To my surprise he sounded almost panicked. 

“Bill! Get up to the conference chamber right away! Alex too!”

Bill stared at the phone in shock. “He hung up!” He released me, swung his legs off the bed and began pulling on his jeans. “I guess we'd better get up there and find out what's going on.”

I dressed in a hurry and minutes later we were running hand in hand along the corridor and into the big conference room. Ulrich was there together with about half a dozen of the High Council. They were silently watching a huge flat screen TV which was mounted on the wall behind the conference table. It appeared to be tuned to a US News station and the picture showed a large building, clearly being filmed from a news helicopter at night. The building was burning, flames pouring out of the windows on all the floors. As we watched one of the walls collapsed and a further gout of flame poured out. 

Ulrich turned to us. “You're looking at one of the two Tru Blood factories in the US. The other one is also in flames.”

Bill gazed at the screen, visibly shocked. “But there are only five aren't there?”

“The one in Japan was destroyed as well. The ones in England and Germany are still okay so far, security has been increased.”

“When did this happen?” asked Bill.

“The two US factories were destroyed yesterday, daytime, but that doesn't prove anything. The one in Japan went up just hours ago. All the news reports so far are saying it was probably done by some religious group but we're not so sure.”

“Why would anyone do that?” I asked, confused. “Surely humans wouldn't be so stupid? It'll only make things more dangerous for them.”

“Exactly!” said Ulrich. “The media has jumped on the theory that it was some anti-vampire group but it doesn't really make sense does it?”

“Well......” I murmured. “It does fit when you think about it...... They tell everyone that vampires are dangerous monsters well, without Tru Blood, they could be proved right couldn't they?”

Bill looked horrified. “You think they'd risk hundreds, perhaps thousands of human lives just to make a point?”

I glanced at Ulrich who, for some reason was looking slightly relieved. “Yes......actually that does make sense. Several US states have already announced curfews for vampires and others will probably follow suit.”

Bill eyed Ulrich sceptically. “Ulrich? What's really going on here? You know something don't you?”

Ulrich threw up his hands. “No......not really. We had information that the Sanguinistas had something big planned, but we didn't know what it was. Perhaps this is it?”

“That's just as likely” said Olivier. “They think mainstreaming is a sin and that vampires have a right to feed on humans. This will force vampires to do that.”

“That's just weird” I said. “Fanatic humans and fanatic vampires have the same agenda? They want to make us look like monsters and the Sanguinistas think we have a right to behave like monsters!”

Bill sat down at the table. “We need to ensure that production at the European plants isn't interrupted and arrange to supply the US as soon as possible.”

“As Ulrich said, we've already increased security and we'll arrange to increase production as much as is practicable” said Olivier.

I shivered. “If we can't get those plants back in operation it won't just be humans who'll be in danger.” I said. “If vampires start to kill humans in larger numbers, we could be in trouble.....big trouble....”


	16. Chapter 16

Over the next few weeks Ulrich and Olivier went on a major media campaign, stressing the new security arrangements and the increase in TB production. The clip of the TV show where Bill had explained that he could feed on humans without harming them and had done for decades even before the Great Revelation, was shown over and over again and was even posted on U Tube. Unfortunately it was countered by video evidence of vampires feeding on humans. Most of it was clearly entrapment, filmed by anti-vampire groups and posted on their websites but the Authority issued an edict that anyone feeding on humans would be punished severely. In effect that meant anyone actually caught feeding, which meant that a number of vampires were executed for merely being foolish, while the cleverer ones were not caught.

The news from the US was bad. Almost all the southern states where vampires tended to congregate had brought in curfews and now we discovered that what Bill had foretold at Lazlo's trial had indeed come to pass. The US Army had a selection of new weapons to use against us. Wooden and silver bullets had always been available but now they had produced bullets which held either a form of liquid silver which burst on contact and burned into the vampire's flesh or worse, some kind of irradiated fluid which gave off UV light. We even heard stories of a new type of contact lens which could protect humans from our glamour.

The Vampire Rights Amendment had not yet been passed and now it appeared unlikely that it ever would be. In fact in some states it was announced officially that vampires had no rights, meaning that humans were able to hunt them down like animals. More easily than animals who at least were protected from hunting out of season!

“This is exactly what I was afraid of!” said Bill one night when we were alone together in the apartment. “The majority of humans are basically tolerant, so long as we were no threat to them they were able to live alongside us but once we become a real threat......” He turned to me “I thought I was saving you but now I'm afraid I may have doomed you along with the rest of us.”

“Bill.....will you please stop blaming yourself? I'm with you now, completely.” I reached up on tiptoe and kissed his cool cheek. “Whatever happens, we'll be together.”

The following night Bill brought one of Greg Sandford's friends back to the apartment for a therapy session. Greg had come with him for moral support but Bill wanted to talk with him alone so I made Greg a coffee and chatted with him while Bill was in the office. It turned out that Greg owned a narrowboat where he retreated when the pressures of life became too much for him and so we chatted happily about the canals and told each other anecdotes about near accidents with lock gates and ropes until Bill was finished.

When we were a little more relaxed together he asked me if Bill had told me the story of his last mission and I admitted that he had. Greg didn't seem to mind and so I plucked up the courage to ask him for more details about the location of the sacred mountain, explaining that I was working with a researcher from the British Museum who was interested in the Gods of ancient Mesopotamia. He was happy to show me so I pulled down a detailed atlas that I had brought back from the Library one night and he marked the location of the village for me.

He'd just finished when Bill emerged with his latest test subject. Greg immediately closed the atlas and I guessed he didn't want to draw attention to the area. He thanked Bill and he and his friend left.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“I think so” replied Bill thoughtfully.

“He was on the same mission as Greg?” I hazarded.

“How did you know that?”

“By the way Greg hid what he was doing as soon as he appeared” I explained. “He was showing me the area where the mission took place. Where the sacred mountain is.”

Bill sat down and regarded me curiously. “Okay! I'll bite! What's your interest in this mountain? The tomb of the God?”

“Right! I think we should take a look don't you?” I said boldly.

Bill looked distinctly unenthusiastic. “Do you really think that now is a good time?”

“Why not?” I asked. “We could take a helicopter into southern Turkey and go on foot the rest of the way” I eyed him sternly. “This is my job remember? Maintaining and enhancing the museum's collections? It wouldn't take us long and we'd probably be safer in those remote mountains than we would be in London!”

“You could be right at that!” he agreed reluctantly. There had not been too much trouble in Europe as the two remaining TB factories were now well guarded but nevertheless all brands of synthetic blood were in short supply due to the huge amounts being shipped over to the States and both humans and vampires were currently existing a state of slightly nervous co-operation.

So far Ulrich's intelligence had pointed towards the bombings being the work of the Sanguinistas. Incredibly, it appeared that we had brought this potential disaster upon ourselves. A more compelling explanation was provided the next day when we received an unexpected visitor.

We were again summoned to the conference room but this time the room was empty bit for Ulrich and two others.

“Ah William!” said Ulrich, slightly impatiently. “Our guest insists on speaking to you and you alone.”

Bill turned to the newcomer and I recognised him. He was bundled up in a thick coat. A round fur hat on his head was pulled down far enough to obscure his features at first glance, but it was Li Cheng.

He put out a hand and grasped Bill's arm. “William my friend! It's good to see you.”

“You too my friend!” Bill smiled at him and waved him to a chair. “Come, sit down and tell me what on earth you're doing here so far from home.”

Li Cheng's smile faded. “Ah! When you hear what I have to say you may wish I'd stayed there.....I bring bad news my friends.”

He sat down and pulled off his hat, gesturing to a figure standing quietly beside one of the columns. “This” he said “is one of my many progeny. This is Mai.”

At his words she emerged from the shadows and came forward towards us. She was smaller than me with a smooth cap of short black hair and enormous dark, almond shaped eyes. She wore a belted tunic in a dark silk over loose silk trousers and she moved with the balanced grace of a dancer.....or perhaps a fighter.

“Hello Mai” said Bill. “Welcome to the Authority. I am William, but you can call me Bill, and this is Alex. Please, have a seat.” He pulled out a chair and she sat down a little warily.

“Thank you William San” she said in a small voice.

“So!” Ulrich was still obviously impatient. “What's this bad news?”

Li Cheng heaved a sigh. “You are of course aware that the Tru Blood factory at Osaka was attacked and burned a few weeks ago?” We nodded. “Well it was planned by an old friend of yours William San. Someone who had not your skill with a cavalry sabre.”

Bill sat down heavily and gaped at him. “Sang? He planned the raid?”

“He has allied himself with a group of religious fanatics from the north. I don't think he believes all of their doctrine although the main focus, that vampires should rule over humans......he believes that all right!

I told you that Mai was one of many. This is a tradition in our culture, our country is wide and the population very numerous, we tend to have large numbers of progeny but Sang has taken this to extremes. He has always had hundreds but since the Revelation this has exploded into thousands. His new friends are in contact with a group in the United States who call themselves the Sanguinistas. He has offered them an army. An army of young vampires, indoctrinated by him and trained to obey him absolutely.”

Ulrich was listening to this with his elbows propped on the table. “Wait a moment! We have agents in China. We would know if such an army was being prepared. I've heard nothing of this!”

Li Cheng smiled. “Sang may be a monster, but he's not stupid. He moves them out of the cities where they would be noticed and hides them in the empty wastes of our lands. Mai has been my eyes and ears in Sang's movement. She has risked much to bring this information back to me, and to you. They are based in a desert in central Asia, the Taklamakan. It is surrounded on three sides by mountains, the Himalayas to the south, the Pamirs to the west and the Tien Shan and the Altai mountains to the north.”

“I know this place” said Bill. “It was on the silk road from northern India. I visited China several times both at the turn of the century during the Boxer Rebellion and later in the 1930s. The trade routes ran around the edges of the desert, in the foothills of the mountains but the interior is just an empty expanse of sand isn't it?”

“It is in what I understand to be called the 'rain shadow' of the Himalayas” explained Li Cheng. It is dry and cold and has been uninhabited by humans for thousands of years. For this reason they considered it to be a safe base of operations. These days there are few places on earth that are truly uninhabited.

The true leaders of the movement are few, but they have thousands of young vampires in their ranks. Believe me William we will never defeat them by force of arms. There are too many of them. Although most are very young and, if we could get them away from the influence of their makers, we might be able to convert them to our cause. The sanguinistas have a policy of making as many progeny as they can support and, since the Revelation, this has been made much easier for them.”

“Have they fallen away from the worship of Lilith?” asked Bill.

“No!” that's the strange thing. “They worship her as their Goddess, but they do not accept that her incarnation is a true one. Sang has convinced them that the Authority worship a false Goddess” explained Mai.

“But that's demonstrably untrue!” exclaimed Bill. “By the way, please don't tell Lilith that will you?” 

“Then we have to demonstrate it somehow!” I said. “We have to make them listen. Lily has to make them listen!”

Li Cheng's bushy eyebrows shot up and he glanced over at Bill curiously.

“Alex and Lily get on very well together.” He looked down at me. “But perhaps that's not the best approach. We need to present her as an All Powerful Goddess, not someone you want to go on a girly shopping trip with!”

I grinned. “She's not much good at them to be honest. Azaria's much more fun.”

Bill stood up. “We need to talk more about this, but not now. You've come a long way and both you and Mai need to rest.”


	17. Chapter 17

Li Cheng and Mai were allocated a vacant apartment in the Authority’s headquarters building and Bill and I went back to our apartment.

“This sounds bad Bill!” I said, sitting down on one of the sofas. “I mean…..an army? Is he serious?”

“Li Cheng has always struck me as a perfectly serious guy. If he says that’s what Sang is doing then I believe him” answered Bill solemnly, sitting down opposite me.

“Are they hiding them from the humans or from us?” I asked.

“Probably both” said Bill, thinking. “They might have stocks of synthetic blood built up before they attacked the factory, they can’t all be feeding on humans in such a remote place, although…..China covers such a huge area, there could well be places in Mongolia or Nepal where whole villages could go missing and no one would notice.”

“What’s Lily going to do?” I asked quietly. “Someone will have to tell her what’s going on.”

Bill sat up. “I think we might go on that little field trip of yours after all” he said decisively. “And we’ll take Lily with us. That way she won’t hear any gossip from anyone else before I have a chance to talk to her. If she’s going to go nuts then I’d rather she did it somewhere where no-one else could see her…..”

Later that night I was packing a couple of backpacks with things I thought I might need and after putting in my tablet computer I went back into the office for a notebook. Electronics are all very well but sometimes you can't beat a pencil and paper.

There was nothing on my desk and I remembered that I'd taken my last pack of notebooks in to the Library. Rats! I wondered if Bill had one and began to check his desk drawers. There was nothing in the top drawer but the minutes of the last High Council meeting so I tried the one underneath. Bingo! I picked up a blank notebook and was just about to shut the drawer when I noticed something sticking out from under the pile of books. It looked like a bit of black leather and I pulled at it gently.

I sat down in Bill's big leather chair examining my find. It was composed of a thick black leather strap, spilt into two at the ends and fitted with steel buckles, rather like an extra wide watch strap. But instead of a watch there was a curious leather box mounted on it containing two glass tubes the ends of which appeared to merge and finish in a metal junction with a thread, as though something was meant to be screwed onto it. I fished in the drawer and pulled out a length of tubing with a metal connector on the end, sure enough, it fitted. 

I turned the object over in my hands and felt a sudden pain in my finger. “Ow!” I dropped it onto the desk and sucked at my finger which was bleeding. Looking down I saw a pair of needles protruding from the base of the leather box.

Bill was sitting on the sofa in the lounge reading a report when I walked in, still sucking my finger.

“Bill?” he looked up as I held out the mysterious object. “I was looking for a notebook in your desk and I found this. What on earth is it?”

His face was blank for a moment and then a slightly embarrassed expression crept over it. Had he been capable of blushing, I was sure he would have. He bit his lip.

“Oh that! It's.........well it's a bit of an antique.......historical interest.......” he muttered.

“But what's it for?” I asked, totally confused.

He eyed me for a moment and then put down the report. “Bring a glass from the kitchen and come and sit here” he said in his softest, most seductive voice, patting his knee “and I'll give you a demonstration.....”

Now I was really curious. I grabbed a glass from the kitchen and went over to him. He pulled me down onto his lap and took the little object from my hand.

“This” he explained turning it over in his long fingers “is a little toy that we vampires sometimes like to use with our partners, usually with a human partner but it works with vampires as well. We are creatures of blood and sometimes, we like to just watch.”

He took my wrist and quickly strapped the object onto it, then pressed it down onto my flesh. I flinched slightly as I felt the needles penetrate my skin and I noticed Bill's eyes widen slightly in anticipation. His fingertips gently stroked the inside of my wrist as we watched the two little glass tubes slowly fill with my blood. When they were full he took the tube and screwed it onto the end of the tubes, placing the other end just over the rim of the glass. With no heartbeat to pump it a vampire's blood flows slowly and we watched, hypnotised, as my blood crept sluggishly along the tube and began to run into the glass. I noticed that Bill's fangs had slid out and that there wasn't quite as much room on his lap as there had been. Oh yes! This was definitely turning him on!

“The blood is the life” I whispered, feeling myself somehow being pulled out of my body as my blood dripped into the glass. 

Bill chuckled. “Most of the nonsense people spout about vampires is just that..... nonsense. But that one......that's quite true.” 

Just as I began to feel a little dizzy Bill quickly unscrewed the end of the tube and held it up allowing the remaining blood in the tube to run out into the glass. He put the glass down on the table in front of us and unfastened the buckles, releasing the leather straps from my wrist, then bent his dark head over my hand and I felt the slight rasp of his tongue as he licked at the two tiny punctures.

“Feel okay?” he asked, reaching over me to drop the little device onto the table.

“Yeah! I feel good.” I murmured.

“Excellent!” He sat up and picked up the glass, taking a sip and turning to me, his lips smeared with my blood. I watched, as if in a dream, his throat flexing as he swallowed, his tongue sweeping across his bloodstained lips and then he held out the glass to me. “Try it!” he offered.

“But......it's mine” I said uncomfortably.

Bill held the glass to my lips. “Taste it!” he ordered. “Tell me what you taste.”

I took a sip warily. I had tasted slight traces of my blood on his lips before, but this was different. “It's.......sweet, like honey.”

Bill slipped a hand behind my head and pulled me to him, running his tongue over my lips. “It tastes like sunshine!” he whispered. “You taste like sunshine.....”

He pushed me up against the back of the sofa and began to unfasten the buttons on my shirt. Then he placed the glass against the hollow of my throat and tipped it up until the blood began to trickle down my neck. He bent his head and I felt the rasp of his tongue as he caught the trail of blood and licked it off my skin. I lay back on the cushions as Bill ripped off my bra and trailed the blood down over my breasts, following it greedily with his tongue. Soon he had moved down to my stomach, kneeling on the carpet before me, and I felt him tugging at my jeans, his fingers busy with the button. I raised my hips eagerly to help him and he slid off the jeans and my panties as the blood flowed from the glass down between my legs. 

I lifted my legs over Bill's shoulders as he carefully directed the blood to run exactly where he wanted it. There was a faint thump as he dropped the glass onto the carpeted floor and then there was nothing except his tongue. I could see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing but the rhythmic strokes as he licked up every last drop, his tongue probing gently inside me, tasting a different nectar this time. But it wasn't enough for me. I ran my fingers through his hair and pushed him back, seeing him look up at me, his mouth still smeared with my blood. “Had enough?” he whispered.

“Not nearly enough” I whispered back. “I need much more than that!”

His eyes seemed to darken slightly in that way that indicated to me that he knew exactly what I needed. I ached for him and ran my hands eagerly down the smooth skin of his stomach. He shuffled forward on his knees, my legs still slung over his shoulders, and grasped my hips, pulling me forward so that I was balanced on the very edge of the sofa, my head laid back amongst the cushions. An involuntary moan escaped my lips as he pushed into me slowly and his lips curled up into a smile as he slid my legs down to his waist.

“Come here!” 

He leaned forwards and pulled me up into his arms, his lips crushing mine in a kiss that would have taken my breath away......had I actually had any.....

Then he slid down onto the floor, pulling me down onto him until we were lying on the thick carpet, our bodies locked together in a passionate embrace each moving in perfect harmony with the other in an unconscious and familiar intimacy, Each striving to please the other and......eventually.....succeeding.

Two hours later we had made it upstairs to the bedroom and lay exhausted in each other's arms.

“So what were you planning to do with that thing anyway?” I asked.

“Well” answered Bill thoughtfully, “I was thinking that I might donate it to the museum.......” he pulled me closer, the soft contours of my body moulding themselves against his muscular form “......but I think I've changed my mind!”


	18. Chapter 18

We left the helicopter somewhere in the mountains of southern Turkey and crossed into Iraq as planned. Bill had the same GPS device he had used in Egypt and we made good time. I was getting accustomed to moving at what I used to think of as “vamp speed” and not tiring. However just as we came into view of the mountain above the village Doug had described, Bill slowed down and stopped.

“We’ve plenty of time and I think we need to discuss something before we go on” he said. He lowered himself onto a rocky ridge and waited while Lily and I sat down. Over the next few minutes Bill carefully explained what Li Cheng had told us.

Lily listened to him her expression hardening as he went on. “I understood that the sanguinistas did not exist in very great numbers?” she asked. 

“That’s what we thought” explained Bill. “But it appears that we were mistaken. Sang seems to be creating an army.”

They would defy the Authority? MY Authority?” she cried angrily. “How dare they! Am I not their Goddess?”

“Well yes….” said Bill carefully. “They certainly believe in you Lily. But I’m afraid that they don’t accept your new incarnation. They teach that the Authority worships a false Goddess.”

Lily sprang up furiously, her eyes burning. Bill took one look at her face and grabbed me around the waist. “Down!” he shouted, throwing me back onto the thin grass behind the ridge of rocks and flinging himself down on top of me. There was an explosion and a blast of heat, then an ominous silence. We got up carefully dusting ourselves off and peered cautiously over the ridge at Lily. She was standing on a piece of scorched rock surrounded by a glowing white aura of power. I had never seen anything like it before. 

Bill stepped forward warily. “Okay, take it easy now Lily…..”

She stared at him her eyes glowing red and gradually they began to fade and the bright white light died down until she was just Lily gazing back at Bill with what looked a lot like fear in her eyes. 

“Oh William!” she whispered. “I’m so sorry…..are you alright?”

“Yes…..yes we’re fine, don’t worry.” He went up to her and placed a comforting hand on her arm. Everything’s okay now.”

“I could have hurt you both, killed you even…..” she sounded horrified at her loss of control.

“Why do you think we brought you all the way out here?”

She reached up and brushed her fingertips across his cheek. “Oh William, what would I do without you?”

“Well……50 Lombard Street would probably be a smoking crater by now……for a start!” He smiled gently at her. “I knew you’d be furious and I guessed something like this might happen, that’s why we didn’t want anyone else around.”

I brushed bits of dry grass off my clothes and watched them. “Well, I’d like to have them see that and then claim that she’s a false Goddess!” I said. “They’d certainly believe then!”

“Oh they’d believe alright!” said Bill. “Right up to the point where they burst into flames! What we want is something to convince them, which they can actually survive! This is the twenty first century. Gods can’t afford to go around smiting their worshippers any more……they need them, right Lily?”

“Right” answered Lily in a small voice.

“Can you do something equally impressive but slightly less……lethal?” he asked carefully.

“I don’t know!” she answered, sounding slightly desperate. “I didn’t know I was doing that…..it just…..happened.”

Bill looked at us thoughtfully. “You had to learn to channel your power Alex” he said. “Could you teach Lily to do the same?”

I blinked. “Well……I don’t have anything like as much but I guess the principle’s the same. But it would take time. Time I don’t think we actually have….”

Bill sighed and put an arm around Lily’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, we’ll think of something.”

We headed across the rocky foothills at a more normal pace this time and I had time to look around and take note of our surroundings. We were approaching the mountain from the opposite side to the village as this area was uninhabited and we wanted to get in and back out again without being seen. I was gazing up at the stars when I noticed something unusual. 

“Hey Bill! Look up there! Do you see that?”

We stopped and Bill and Lily both looked up to where a pair of large birds were circling overhead.

“How often do you see birds flying at night?” I asked.

“Strange certainly” said Bill. “But I'm not sure it has anything to do with us. Or even if it does, what we can do about it?”

We started off again and headed around across the rocky plateau. I was still looking up at the birds, which I managed to identify as ravens, and so I didn't notice that Bill had stopped until I walked into him. He put out a hand to stop me from falling but his gaze was fixed somewhere ahead of us.

“Do you see that?” he whispered.

I peered carefully ahead to where he was pointing and noticed a pile of rocks ahead, after a moment of two I thought I could see a figure among the rocks. As we came closer the figure resolved into that of a man as he stood up from the rock where he had been sitting apparently waiting for us. Approaching carefully I understood why we had not seen him before. His long grey cloak was the same colour as the granite of the rocks and his white hair and beard could have been drifts of snow. The wide brim of his hat had sheltered his face and hidden it from view until he got up and looked around at us, revealing a dark leather patch over one eye. A long white scar ran down vertically from his forehead under the patch and down his cheek. If it were not for that he could have been masquerading as Gandalf from the Lord of the Rings.

There was a rustle of feathers as one of the ravens fluttered down and sat on the rocks watching us with its head on one side.

“I've been waiting for you” he said calmly.

Bill watched him for a moment. “Why?” He asked.

I'd have thought “Who are you” and “how did you know we'd be here?” were better questions, but Bill always went straight to the point.

“I have seen you in a dream” he said. “Far to the east of here there will be a great battle and you will be at the forefront.”

“You will pardon me but that sounds highly unlikely” replied Bill sceptically. “I try to avoid battles these days, if at all possible.”

“Then let us hope that you will be successful in avoiding this one.”

“Why would this concern you?” asked Bill curiously.

The stranger looked up at the second raven which was circling overhead before replying. “The dream was not entirely clear, but there is a possibility that the battle, if it takes place, could be the spark for a far greater catastrophe. One that would engulf more than just your kind. I saw that you would be here and I was interested to meet you, to see for myself what you are and with whom you are allied.” His eyes slid to Lilith for a moment. “To make my own assessment.....”

“I see” said Bill. “And what is your decision?”

He smiled. “I have looked into your heart and I see that you are an honourable man. A warrior who knows that war is best avoided if possible but who will fight fiercely to protect those he loves. I have decided that I will help you when the time comes.....if it comes.”

With that he turned and walked away, his grey cloak rapidly blending into the landscape and causing him to disappear into the distance.

"Okay, that was decidedly odd!" said Bill. "Who on earth was that?"

Lily glanced at me but said nothing.

"I think I have a fair idea" I said, watching the two ravens circle overhead and then head off after him. "Old man in a grey cloak, wandering alone in the mountains, one eye, couple of ravens following him around......."

"He certainly wasn't human......at least, he didn't smell human" said Bill thoughtfully. "A supe of some kind, but I've never smelt anything quite like that before."

"Oh I think you probably have!" I murmured quietly.

Lily was grinning at me. "I've said this before, but you really are too clever for your own good you know! At least you had the sense not to let him know you recognised him." She regarded me thoughtfully. "I'll bet you even know what the ravens are called?"

"Hugin and Munin?" I asked with a matching grin.

Bill's face was a picture. "Thought and memory? You mean..........are you saying that was Odin?" he gasped.

Lily nodded. 

He stared at me. "Another one! What is it with you? What do they want from you? You seem to attract them......you're like catnip for Gods!"

"Excuse me?" I said indignantly. "I don't recall Bast having any interest in me whatsoever! And I've got a pretty damn good idea what it was she wanted from you!"

"Actually I think that was probably my fault" said Lilith. "We true immortals can sense each other. Bast was attracted to me initially and she could probably sense my presence in you William. Although I'm sure she had her own reasons as well." She smirked at Bill, then turned back to me. "You are William's progeny and you have his blood so.........."

"What did I say?" asked Bill. "Catnip for Gods!"

I snorted. "And what does that make you then? Stronger catnip for Goddesses! Besides, it was you he seemed to be interested in, not me."

A tiny smile began to appear on Bill's face although he clearly struggled to keep it down. "Okay, I'll fight off the Gods and you deal with the Goddesses.....hows that?"

"Deal!"

Lily looked from Bill to me and back again. "You're not serious are you?" she asked.

We looked at each other and laughed. "Well no......not entirely" said Bill.


	19. Chapter 19

Another five minutes or so of vamp speed brought us to the base of the mountain and we circled it once scanning it for any obvious entry points. The only possibility was a dark gap which Bill spotted halfway up a sheer face on the north side. It appeared completely inaccessible but of course we had skills that other possible treasure hunters lacked.

“Do you think you can make it up there?” asked Bill, looking up at the gap several hundred feet above our heads.

“Sure!” I answered proudly. “I've been practising.....”

Bill looked down at me, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “Then perhaps you should go first? You're the closest we have to an archaeologist after all.....and if you should fall, you'll land on me! Who knows? I might get lucky!”

I giggled. “Be serious, you! This is important.”

I stepped forward and concentrated on the spot high up on the cliff. After a moment I could feel myself rising into the air and the wind caught my hair and tried to blow it around. I was glad that I had tied it back at the nape of my neck and I was wearing sensible tough walking boots. These came into play when I reached the gap in the cliff and allowed the power to slip away as I grasped the edge of the opening and swung my feet inside. I moved further inside straight away, making room for Bill who was right behind me, and Lily who was close behind him.

We were standing in a narrow opening which widened out a little further in. Bill pulled a flashlight from his pack and shone it in front of us. A narrow tunnel headed directly into the heart of the mountain. I stepped forward and was stopped by Bill's gentle hand on my shoulder.

“Please? Let me. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you.....”

I sighed. 

“Oh Alex! Please don't be difficult. I know you're perfectly capable of looking after yourself but......I still want to take care of you.....”

I really wanted to go first but I knew he was right. He would be better able to deal with any problems than I would. “Oh all right! Go ahead then.....”

I felt his arm curl around me in the darkness and his lips brushed against mine. Then he was ahead of me and moving carefully down the dark tunnel. We crept along the tunnel in silence for a couple of hundred yards. I couldn't see much of it, but what there was didn't look encouraging. It appeared to be natural, not man-made, there was no attempt to even smooth down the walls, let alone any carvings. I was beginning to think we had made a mistake when Bill stopped suddenly.

“It opens up ahead” he whispered. “Into a large cavern.”

He was right. We came out of the tunnel into an open space about thirty feet across. Bill's flashlight swung over the walls and it was a moment before I realised that there was no other exit. The cavern was a dead end.

We walked into the centre of the cave and looked at each other. “Well.....I couldn't see any other way in to the mountain, but I guess we could go and have another look?” said Bill, eyeing me with a worried expression. “You can't be right every time sweetie.”

I knew there was no other way in. This had to be it! I peered into the dark corners but the walls were unbroken all the way around. Damn it! I'd been so sure I was onto something....

“Okay. Sorry, but I seem to have dragged you here on a wild goose chase.” I said looking back one last time as Bill turned back to the tunnel entrance. As he did so the beam of the flashlight illuminated something on the floor in the far corner.

“Hold it!” I said. “What's that?”

“You've seen something over there?” asked Lily.

“It's rather that I've seen something that isn't there.” I explained, heading over to the corner. Bill followed me and, sure enough, his light revealed what I had glimpsed. A dark patch which didn't reflect the light. A hole in the floor. It was about four feet across and opened into a pitch dark pit. 

Bill shrugged off his pack and reached in, pulling out a short plastic tube. He took it in both hands and snapped it allowing the two separate fluids inside to mix and create a luminescent glow. Leaning forward carefully he dropped it down the hole. It fell about twenty feet and landed on a smooth stone floor. There was no reflection from nearby walls so we knew that there was another chamber beneath our feet. Again Bill went first, dropping down the hole to land, cat-like and perfectly balanced on the stone floor. Lily and I followed him and he had tossed a couple more glowsticks into the edges of the chamber as we jumped down beside him.

We were in a circular chamber with a smooth stone floor and several panels of carving in what looked like cuneiform writing set into the walls. That was interesting enough but before us was something I hadn't expected. A great curved archway was set into the wall of the chamber and beyond it the dim light from the glowsticks picked up the dull gleam of gold.

We stepped over the threshold and stared in astonishment at the gold piled haphazardly onto the shelves which lined the inner chamber. There were goblets and plates, wide deep bowls and tall jugs with elegant curving handles.

Bill swung his flashlight around the walls and I saw a gold helmet, a fluted beaker and a gold dagger with an inlaid lapis lazuli handle and an elaborately decorated gold sheath. One shelf held dozens of small gold figurines of animals. Bulls, lions and goats with magnificent curved horns. Alongside them were two woven baskets one containing coins and medallions and the other a riot of golden jewellery, rings, earrings and necklaces. On another stood a carved wooden head, the features blank but wearing a magnificent headdress composed of layers of gold beads and finished with a fringe of beautifully engraved gold leaves.

“Well.....” breathed Bill. “You've certainly added to the museum's collection tonight!” He turned to me. “Should we take them do you think?” he asked doubtfully.

“I think we should” I said firmly. “Lots of stuff in the museum has been rescued from destruction. Tens of thousands of items were looted from the museum in Baghdad during the war and only a very small proportion have been traced and returned. The rest is probably lost for good. Wherever there is conflict, there will be looting. We have a duty to take care of these artefacts.”

I went up to one of the shelves and examined some of the small gold figures. “These look as if they were made to be left as votive offerings. People must have visited this place.” 

I looked around. “I don't see a sarcophagus or any sign of a burial? I was assuming that we would find a tomb but this looks more like a shrine. Here Bill......shine the light over here.”

I pointed to a carved frieze on the wall with the classic wedge shaped, incised cuneiform writing underneath it.

“Can you read that?” asked Bill.

“Not yet!” I said, pulling out my tablet and taking several pictures. “But this......” I pointed to a section of writing “.......I do recognise. Its the name of the Patron God of Babylon, Marduk.”

Bill swung the flashlight back and suddenly froze, staring into the darkness further in. There was a doorway opening into another small chamber which appeared to be empty and we continued to walk forward until we could see that the rear of the second chamber was a smooth, flat wall on which was painted a magnificent mural. The scene was a seascape. To one side were towering cliffs where the sea crashed in great curling waves. But in the centre of the painting was a creature neither I nor Bill had ever seen before. The figure was that of a naked woman, hovering over the surface of the water. Her arms were outstretched, the hands ending in long fingers tipped with dark green talons. Her long slender legs were covered with tiny green scales which ran up the sides of her body to her shoulders which were covered in thicker scales. The muscular, armoured shoulders supported two pairs of limbs, the arms with the same small green scales running down the sides and what appeared to be a second pair of arms, which ended in four long fingers supporting a pair of enormous wings with a deep green membrane stretched between the “fingers”.

A row of small golden spikes ran up the back of her calves and a similar row along each forearm with a longer spike on the elbow and on the joints of the wings. Her eyes were a deep red and the skin above her brows was covered with the same deep green scales giving the effect of a ridged helmet with two curved golden horns emerging and curling backwards. Her feet were hidden by the long scaled tail which curled around them and trailed down into the water.

Before the painting on a stone ledge was a magnificent flask about ten inches tall which appeared to have been carved out of a single piece of quartz and then polished to a high shine making it gleam like a piece of crystal in the dim light. However, it was clear that it wasn't empty.

Bill and I crept carefully forward and saw that there was a carved crystal lid on the flask. Bill lifted it and sniffed cautiously.

“It's blood!” he said, astonished.

“How can it still be liquid after all this time?” I asked. “Do you think it's.......” I looked up at the painting.

Bill was staring at the flask. “I think this is a depiction of Tiamat and this is her blood” he said softly. “If Marduk cut her body into pieces then there would have been blood right? Lots of it! Lilith's shrine contained a flask of her blood.......so why not Tiamat's?”

“So this is the blood of a Goddess?” I asked, turning to Lily.

“It's quite possible” she said. “I would assume Marduk didn't want to leave any of her essence lying around. That could have been dangerous.......as you know....” she gave Bill a small smile and turned away to examine the rest of the chamber.

“Do you think Dr Pasteur and Dr Jenner could synthesise this?” I asked.

“I rather doubt it” said Bill. “I suspect that this will prove to be something like the Fae in your blood. But we can give them a sample.”

Suddenly he stopped and his head came up sharply.

“What? You've thought of something?” I asked.

Bill stared at me, obviously thinking. “Siriothrax” he said quietly. “My blood wasn't strong enough to heal him, but maybe this could. This is the blood of his Mother Goddess!”

“There's nothing else in here” said Lily coming back. “Carvings, nothing more.”

Bill shrugged his pack off his back and wrapped the crystal flask in a spare shirt, placing it carefully in the pack. “We'd better be going” he said.

“Oh! Wait a moment!” I suddenly remembered my tablet and pulled it back out of my pack. I took half a dozen photographs of the painting and several more of the carvings in the second chamber which appeared to depict a procession of Gods, presumably Marduk and his fellows. I would have to show it to Professor Hulton.


	20. Chapter 20

On our return Bill contacted Queen Mab and explained to her how we had met the dragons. She seemed very surprised that they would actually speak with us and when she discovered that we knew their names she looked astonished. I had never seen her looking anything but perfectly composed and I had to smile to myself at her obvious shock. However she readily agreed to contact Arzosah and Siriothrax and request a meeting with them at our cottage, although she warned us that it might take some time.

Over the next few weeks I was kept busy cataloguing and identifying the items removed from the “tomb” of Tiamat. I missed several High Council meetings but Bill kept me informed about what was going on. Li Cheng had told his story officially to the Council and Lilith impressed everyone by remaining perfectly calm. Of course, no-one but Bill and I knew that she was already aware of what was happening.

Scouts were sent out both to interrogate the Chinese representatives of the Authority and to search the areas of the Taklamakan desert identified by Li Cheng for any traces of the army of sanguinistas supposedly being created by Sang and his associates. Then one evening I was in my office in the Library when Maddie burst in looking worried.

“There's a message for you Alex! One of the security guards is outside. Apparently Ulrich wants you in the Council Chamber immediately!”

I put down the prints of the cuneiform script I had photographed in Tiamat's shrine and walked out of the office with her. Sure enough, one of Ulrich's security guards stood outside looking totally out of place in his combat boots and polished black body armour.

“Ulrich thought you'd need to escort me?” I asked, irritated. “Did he think I was going to run away?”

“He just sent me with the message Ma'am” he answered.

“What? He's never heard of the telephone?” I snapped.

We had reached the great Oak doors to the Library and he opened them for me, politely stepping back. I sighed. “I'm sorry, it's not your fault.”

“That's all right Ma'am. We're all a little on edge at the moment.” He straightened up a little. “We all signed on to fight for the Authority but we didn't really think it would ever be necessary. Now it looks as if we might actually have to!”

I stared at him, shocked. I hadn't realised that things were as serious as this! We hurried down the corridors to the Council Chamber and he opened the door for me and took up a position on the inside.

The huge conference table was full and I didn't recognise half the vampires around it as Bill stood up and pulled up a chair for me, placing it next to his. However, I was surprised at some of the faces I did recognise. I saw the great bear-like figure of Gustav Van Straten, the King of New York and the slim dark shape of Felipe de Castro. They had evidently been summoned for the US for this meeting. Both Olivier, the European Magister and Jorge, the American were there and as I walked over to Bill and sat down I noticed Queen Freya sitting opposite. I wondered if Eric was with her or if he had been left behind to rule Oklahoma in her absence. Beside her sat Theophanes who smiled at me warmly.

“Alexandra, welcome!” said Lily, who was sitting at the head of the table with Bill at her right hand.

Ulrich was sitting to her left. “We thought you needed to be here to hear this Alex. We have some visitors.”

He nodded to the security guard and he opened the doors and escorted in two Chinese vampires, a man and a woman. Ulrich stood up and gave them a slight bow. He then introduced them as An Te Hai and Lady Fei from the Authority's base in Shanghai. An Te Hai was tall and thin with a long drooping moustache. Although he wore modern dress my mind somehow clothed him in long silk robes........they suited him much better. Lady Fei was small and plump with glossy black hair and dark almond shaped eyes. 

An Te Hai bowed low to Lilith. “Greetings my Lady Lilith! I bring news from your servants in Shanghai. We have received an........invitation.”

He spoke slightly hesitantly and I wondered just how much freedom there was in this “Invitation”. Somehow it sounded as though it had been more like an instruction. 

“An invitation from our friends on the western borders to join them and to bring as many members of the Vampire Authority as would wish to attend a meeting.” He hesitated for a moment. “They wish to speak with you about the possible incarnation of the Lady Lilith” he whispered, as though hoping that we might not hear him.

There was a cold silence around the table. “Possible incarnation?” asked Lilith politely. “What exactly do they mean by that?”

“They....um....” his eyes slid around the table as though searching for a way out. “Their view is that......” his voice tailed off miserably in the face of Lily's cold stare. I'd swear the temperature had dropped by several degrees and I wondered for a moment if she'd been taking lessons from Mab.

“Their view is that the Authority worship a false Goddess” said Lady Fei, boldly.

I felt the room begin to shake slightly and Lady Fei almost stumbled but recovered quickly. “And is this your opinion as well?” asked Lily, her calm tone only slightly betrayed by the fire flickering in her eyes.

“Not at all my Lady!” answered Lady Fei. “I am just reporting what they told us.”

I decided I liked her. She had a lot more courage than An Te Hai!

Lily sat back in her chair and the room settled down. “So.....am I included in this “Invitation” or would they prefer the “false Goddess” to stay away?” she asked curiously.

“They did not specify this” answered An Te Hai, anxious to be heard now that the danger appeared to be over.

Lily turned to Ulrich with a raised eyebrow.

“Where exactly is this meeting to take place?” he asked.

“In the desert outside the city of Kashgar. It is the westernmost city in China near the border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.....”

“And just on the edge of the Taklamakan desert” put in Bill. “How very convenient!”

The two Chinese envoys stared at him. “You've heard the rumours then?” asked Lady Fei.

“We understand that large numbers of young vampires have been stationed there” said Bill, not mentioning Mai's infiltration of Sang's army. He clearly didn't trust these two envoys and wasn't going to let them know where our information had come from.

The meeting went on for several more hours. After a while Ulrich took pity on the two envoys and called for a couple of chairs for them. They were questioned exhaustively but it was clear that they knew no more about what was going on in the Taklamakan than we did. They were dismissed halfway through the meeting and escorted to one of the lounges where they were guarded by several more of the Authority's security.

The date they had suggested for the “meeting” was in a weeks time, carefully chosen to be close enough to make it difficult to do any real reconnaissance but not so close as to allow us to back out on the grounds of having too little notice.

Later that night Bill and I lay in bed talking. He had his arm around me, holding me tight to his side. “This could be very dangerous” he murmured. “We really have no idea what they are planning, or even how many there are. They're going to want everyone they can get to attend this meeting and to be prepared to fight if something goes wrong.”

Do you think that it will come to that?” I asked.

“Remember what Odin said? That he had seen a great battle brewing in the east? Perhaps this is what he saw?”

“Then it just might happen” I answered softly.

“He can see the future?” asked Bill. 

“That's how he lost his eye.” I explained. “The legends say that he gave up his eye in exchange for the ability to see the future.”

“Why would he help us?”

“Well the legends, the prophecies say that he will die in the great battle at Ragnarok, killed by the wolf Fenris, so if he thinks that this could be a prelude to Ragnarok then he'd want to stop it, wouldn't he?”

I thought for a moment. “He's also supposed to lead not only the other Norse Gods, but also an army of the Einherjar, the Vikings killed in battle who were chosen by the Valkyries to live in Valhalla, awaiting the final battle. Could be useful?” I said hopefully. “You know......just as backup?”

Bill smiled at this thought.

“Lily's going to want you there isn't she?” I asked quietly.

He sighed, knowing what was coming. “Yes.”

“Then I'm coming with you!”

He hugged me tighter but he didn't reply. I knew he wanted to say no. Wanted me to stay behind, to keep safe, but I was determined on this. If there was danger in this, if there was even the slightest possibility that he might meet the true death far away in the deserts of central asia, then I wanted to be beside him. He completed me, made me feel whole. I had lived with him, spent my time as a vampire with him and, if necessary, I would die with him.


	21. Chapter 21

The very next night Ulrich began making arrangements to travel to central asia.

“We have to present a united front Bill!” he said. “And furthermore, we have to show up in force! Make no mistake, this is a direct challenge to Lilith's authority and we can't afford to let it go uncontested. I want everyone.......and I really mean everyone......there to back her up.”

“Of course” answered Bill calmly. “But first we need to go back to Oxford for a few nights, to pack, see to a few things......”

Ulrich wasn't happy to see us go but he was too busy to argue so we set off back to the Mill House that night. When we arrived we found a note on the mantelshelf above the great Inglenook fireplace that was the gateway to Faery. It was from Queen Mab telling us that Siriothrax and his mate would meet us at the cottage the next day.  
Bill and I stood before the fireplace and looked at each other. He swung his pack down onto the floor between us and opened it to reveal the crystal flask containing the blood of the Goddess Tiamat. We had not yet told anyone of our discovery. He picked up the pack, took my hand and we walked through the portal to Faery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you think we're doing the right thing?” I asked. “We might be about to fight a war......that blood could mean the difference between survival and the true death for our friends.”

We were sitting on the bench outside the cottage waiting for our guests. “We don't know that it'll even work!” answered Bill. “But if it works for Siriothrax then hopefully, what's left will work for us too.”

I sighed and looked up to see two familiar forms skimming low over the lake towards us. The two dragons, one shining irridescent black and one gleaming bronze landed gracefully on the lakeside and walked up to the cottage, shaking their great wings and folding them carefully over their backs.

Siriothrax lowered his head to Bill, who had stood up to greet him.

_“Good day William. Have you thought of some task which I can perform for you?"_ he asked.

Bill put his hands on his hips and stared up at him steadily. “Are all dragons as cynical as you?” he asked. “Or are you unique in that respect? No, I have not! I have, on the other hand, found something which might help you!”

Siriothrax blinked and lowered his head further. _“I am sorry”_ he said, after a pause long enough to convince me that apologising was not something he did very often. _“You must understand that our history does not encourage trust in humans, and what we hear from the Fae does nothing to build trust in vampires either. However, I should have known better of you.”_

He lowered himself to the ground. _“I am grateful for your efforts, truly I am. Please. Will you tell me what you have found?”_

"It's a long story” warned Bill. _“Excellent! We adore stories!”_ said Siriothrax, gesturing with his head for Arzosah to join us. 

The two dragons settled down on the ground by the lake and we sat down beside them and explained the circumstances leading up to our discovery of the “tomb” of Tiamat

They were silent during Bill's tale and when he had finished Arzosah turned her head to her mate. _“If it is truly Mother Tiamat's blood then it might work.”_ she said. 

_“But how could we know? None of us could access this place to see the painting. Even if we could there are few of us left who are old enough to remember her.”_

Wouldn't you want to try anyway?” asked Bill, “what harm could it do?"

Siriothrax gave a snort and I noticed, to my alarm, a puff of smoke emerge from his nostrils. _“I don't know. I'd just like to be certain.......”_

Suddenly an idea struck me. “Wait!” I jumped up and ran back into the cottage. Rummaging in my rucksack I pulled out my tablet and ran back outside. “I took some photographs! The dragons looked blank. _“Photographs?”_ asked Arzosah curiously. 

“Pictures.....images......of the painting.” I explained, flipping through the pictures and picking the clearest one. I held the tablet up so that they could look at it. Their two heads came together and they sat like a pair of statues as they stared at the image on the screen.

Finally Siriothrax broke the silence. _“It is her”_ he whispered. _“Our Mother Tiamat.”_

The great head turned back to Bill. _“Do you think that I have the right to use her sacred blood?” he asked._

Bill smiled. “I would think that she would rather it were used to heal one of her children than to sit gathering dust in a tomb, wouldn't you? Besides I had intended to only use a few drops, diluted with my own at first, just to see what happens?” 

_“I would be most grateful if you would try this William. I would be honoured to receive your blood with hers.”_

He settled himself down on the ground before the cottage and watched Bill as he went inside and brought out a glass flask and the crystal flask he had brought back from the tomb in his pack. He sat down on the grass next to Siriothrax and bit down into his wrist. I watched, entranced, as his blood ran into the glass flask. After a moment or two the bite wound healed up and Bill put the flask down and picked up the crystal one. He carefully removed the crystal stopper and poured a few drops into the glass container and swirled it around to mix it together.

He sat for a moment holding the crystal flask and then turned to look up at the great dragon towering over him. “This is the blood of your mother. Do you wish to keep it?” 

_“You would give this to us, vampire?”_ asked Siriothrax. _“Is not blood sacred to your kind?”_

“We should like to keep it certainly” admitted Bill quietly. “But we have not mentioned it to the Authority as yet. You have more right to it than we do.”

Siriothrax laid his head on the ground and looked Bill directly in the eyes. _“You are a good man William. Your first thought was to use this to help us. I suspect that most of your kind would have simply kept it. But we have no use for possessions. Please, keep it safe for us.”_

Bill smiled and handed me the crystal flask. “I promise we'll take good care of it” he said. 

I took the flask back into the cottage and placed it carefully back in Bill's pack, ready to take it back. When I returned Siriothrax was lying on his side and Bill had poured a little of the blood mixture into the wound which he had failed to heal completely. At first I thought that nothing had changed. I gave a little sigh of disappointment. I had really hoped that this would work. Then Siriothrax spoke. 

_“I feel something! There is an.....itching sensation.”_

Bill peered closely at the wound. “It's working!” he breathed. “It's really working, just very slowly......."

For the rest of that night and all the next day Bill sat beside the injured dragon and waited while the slow healing continued. When it stopped he applied more of the blood mixture. By the next evening it was no longer possible to tell where the wound had been. Siriothrax stood up and stretched his wing out. 

_"Ahhh.......that feels so good”_ he said. _“For the first time in centuries I can move without pain.”_

He lowered himself back to the ground and turned his head to Bill. _“I have misjudged you badly, vampire!”_ he said. _“You helped my daughter when she fell injured into your lake and you have kept your promise to help me as well. Although you failed at first you did not give up and when you found another solution you brought it to me and used it to heal me with no thought of reward.”_

His great jewelled eyes gazed down at us.

_“Anything I can do to help you William, I will happily do. You are a honest man and you have my respect.”_

I thank you Siriothrax. I am honoured to call myself your friend.” 

Arzosah was curled on the ground nearby and I was sitting, leaning against her side, soaking up the evening sunlight. 

_“Well I'm glad we've got that settled!”_ she said with a sniff. _“Alex and I are practically falling asleep over here. I must say that, if this means that his temper improves, then I too will owe you a great debt William!”_

Bill sat down and smiled at the two dragons. “As I said, we want to live in peace with the inhabitants of this place.” He sighed. “But sadly it looks as though we're going to be in too much trouble on our own plane. We may not be able to visit so often.”

_“That would be a shame!”_ rumbled Siriothrax. _“I must admit that I enjoy talking with you. You are very different from any creature I have met before. I know that the Winter Queen has considerable respect for you William. She mentioned that she would like us to show you some of her realm.”_

Bill looked puzzled. “How did she think you were going to do that?” 

Siriothrax's eyes glittered with what I assumed to be amusement. _“You ride a horse in your world do you not?”_ he asked. 

Bill's eyes widened. “Are you suggesting that we could.......ride you?” 

The dragon's lips curled back from his long fangs in what might have been an attempt at a smile. _“I promise to behave and not try to unseat you William. I'm sure you could manage.”_

I leaned back against Arzosah's foreleg and stared up at the sky. “Imagine that Bill! If we could get Lilith to arrive at Kashgar riding on a dragon! That ought to do it!" 

He laughed. “Pity we're on a totally different plane.....” 

Arzosah turned her head to me. _“How would this help you?”_ she asked curiously. 

“It's a long story!” Both heads swung around to me. “Oh right! You love stories......” 

So we told them what was happening in our world. How Sang and his confederates were creating an army of vampires who wanted to take over the human world and how the fragile peace with humans which had been negotiated by the Vampire Authority was beginning to break down. 

Siriothrax listened carefully until we had told them everything we knew. _“This, Lilith, she is a Goddess?”_ he asked. 

“Yes, she is.” 

_“Then could she not simply destroy her enemies herself?”_

“Well, the problem is that most of them are not really her enemies, they're just misguided. We want to change their minds, not just destroy them” said Bill. We want a way to bring them round to our way of thinking. I promised Lily I'd think of something.” 

He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Come to think of it, it was Lily who first told me about dragons!” 

Siriothrax looked shocked. _“She knows about us? How is that possible?”_

“No, I don't think so. She was talking about the past......long past.” 

I watched Bill's eyes glaze a little as he delved into his prodigious memory. “She told me that there were dragons once” he said quietly. “When this earth was young there were many things which no longer exist on our plane. She said that they were the children of a sea goddess from ancient Babylon. She thought a moment and then remembered her name........Tiamat. But she said she'd not seen her for millennia.” 

The two dragons were staring at Bill is astonishment. _“She knew our Mother Tiamat?”_ asked Siriothrax. 

_“Well......I think so” answered Bill. “The suggestion was that she had known her, but had lost touch......”_

_“Then we would be honoured to help her. We should be pleased to meet her William, you must bring her to us. If she truly knew our Mother I am sure I can find one of my brothers who would be proud to carry her.”_

Well I'm sure she'd be delighted to meet you but it won't actually help our problem will it?” I said. “As Bill said, we're on a completely different plane.” 

Bill laughed “Yes.....It's a shame really as......” 

_“We can get to your world.”_

"..........it would really be a great........what?” Bill stared at Siriothrax. “What did you just say?” 

_“We can get to your world”_ he repeated calmly. _“All the creatures on this plane can open a portal to your world William. How do you imagine we got here in the first place?”_

We stared at the dragons, open mouthed. “You can get to our world?” I repeated, hardly able to believe what I'd just heard. 

_“We could visit your world whenever we wish”_ said Arzosah, her eyes sparkling with amusement. _“We just don't wish to!”_

I turned to Bill. “This is it Bill. This is what we need! If we could actually get Lilith to arrive at the meeting at Kashgar riding on a dragon.......just imagine......it'd be so much easier to bring the youngsters over to our side, hopefully without any bloodshed at all!” 


	22. Chapter 22

“Absolutely not!” Queen Mab's voice was as icy as I'd ever heard it.

We'd struck a problem. The dragons had told us that they opened portals in mid-air and so they would want to prepare at the cottage, get us mounted up and then travel to the Taklamakan straight through a portal. This meant that Lily would have to come with us to the cottage and we needed to get Mab's permission before allowing her into Faery.

“My Lady, please....” Bill was at his most persuasive. “Allow us to explain the situation.”

She glared at him and sat down on the sofa. “Very well William. I owe you that, at least.”

We sat down on the other sofa and told her the same story we had told the dragons. That there was an army of vampires awaiting us in central Asia whose ultimate goal was to take over the human world and how, thanks to their actions, the Vampire Authority's carefully negotiated understanding with humans was starting to fall apart.

“This might be our best chance to stop this before it really gets started. They believe that Lilith is a false Goddess......we are trying to find a way for her to demonstrate her power without actually killing them, they are her children after all she doesn't want to harm them, I'm sure you can understand that.”

Bill was trying to appeal to her feelings as a mother and it appeared that he had succeeded. She sat back and sighed.

“Very well William. I will permit this on this one occasion only, but on one condition! You will return to London and when you are ready to leave, you will contact me. I will come to your apartment and I will take all three of you direct to the cottage.”

Bill frowned, clearly puzzled, but I got it. I glanced over at the fireplace. “You don't want her to know where the portal is?” I asked.

Bill's expression cleared at once. “Of course!” he whispered to himself.

“Correct!” said Mab. “You fear that, should your mission fail, humans will begin to kill your kind in larger numbers, is that right?”

Bill nodded.

“Should that come to pass I do not want Lilith to be able to lead her remaining children to a safe haven with an extensive and palatable food supply!”

Bill's eyes widened. “I see!” He sighed. “Perhaps we can think of something else. Maybe we could arrange to meet them somewhere?” he turned to me. “The trouble is we wouldn't know where they were and I'm not sure they have sufficient knowledge of our world to be able to get to a rendezvous point.”

Mab was watching him curiously. “You would give up this chance because of a risk to us?” she asked.

“My Lady, I swore that I would never bring harm to your people......and I never will!”

She stared at him for a moment and then seemed to come to a decision. “Very well. I will collect you from your apartment and take you to Faery. I know that I can trust you never to tell her where your portal is.”

So we returned to London and tried to work out what we'd need to travel between the worlds and on to central Asia on a dragon. What had happened to my boring, ordinary life, I wondered digging in the back of a cupboard for a pair of tough hiking boots. I pulled out a pair of jeans and a thick sweater and Bill threw me a padded body warmer.

“It gets cold in the desert at night” he said. Then he stopped and turned to look at me. “I'm sorry darling, I forget sometimes.......”

I laughed. “I may not really feel the cold any more but I still like to wrap up warm!” I looked up at him. He had that faraway look in his eyes. “When were you in the desert?” I asked.

He blinked. “Oh! During the war.....” he said dismissively.

“I remember you told me you worked as a nightclub singer in some club in Marrakesh” I said. 

A small reminiscent smile crept onto his lips. “I spent some time in the desert” he said quietly.

A girl! I'd be prepared to bet there was a girl. Then I wondered what had happened to her.......I decided not to ask. If he wanted me to know then he'd tell me in his own good time.

He was putting various items of electronic equipment into his backpack. He showed me something that looked like a Sat Nav with a mapping and GPS system which he hoped we would be able to direct the dragons to Kashgar, from there we'd be on our own. He also produced three tiny short wave radios each with a bluetooth earpiece so we could communicate with each other and with Lilith.

Bill had called Lilith and asked her to come to the apartment. She arrived just as we finished packing.

“I see you're getting ready to leave” she said, walking in as Bill leaned our packs against the sofa. “Ulrich says we'll need to set off for the airport soon, we'll have to change planes at Delhi and tansfer to something smaller for the trip over the Himalayas.”

“We're not going to the airport” said Bill. “Please, sit down Lily. We have something to tell you.”

Just as we finished telling Lilith our story Bill's phone rang. He glanced at the screen and pressed the loudspeaker button. Ulrich sounded really pissed!

“Bill?” he snarled. “Where the hell are you? Is Lilith with you?”

“We're in the apartment Ulrich. Lilith is here with us.” 

“Well get down to the garage right now! We're ready to leave for the airport.”

Bill took a deep breath. “We're not coming with you Ulrich. We'll meet you there.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. “You're not coming?” I could almost see ice forming on the speaker. “What do you mean, you're not coming? Everyone…....and Bill, I really do mean everyone, the entire High Council, half the Monarchys of both the US and Europe together with all the backup they can muster are going to be there and you're NOT COMING?”

There was an angry hiss from the speaker. “And Lilith is coming with me!”

Uh oh......that was the wrong thing to say!

Lily reached for the phone and took it gently from Bill's hand. “Ulrich! Nice to hear from you” she said sweetly. “But I don't think I quite caught that last remark. It almost sounded as though you were telling William what I would be doing?”

We waited for a response, but Ulrich wisely remained silent this time.

“William has taught me well Ulrich, he has been a good friend and counsellor to me. He is a gentle soul and polite, and I have always tried to follow his example, but now I see that perhaps this was a mistake as it has given you the misapprehension that I serve you and not the other way around.”

The phone began to glow red in her hand. “I am your Goddess Ulrich, not your servant! You do NOT tell me what I will and will not do! Is that clear?”

There was more silence and then Ulrich spoke again. “But my Lady, we need you!” he pleaded. “The whole point of facing up to these lunatics is to demonstrate to them that their beliefs are false!”

“If William says that we will be there, then we will be there” she pronounced flatly. “In future you will obey William as you would obey me, do you understand?” 

She clicked off the phone before Ulrich could protest.

“Right!” she tossed the phone back to Bill. “Now, how do we get to these dragons?”


	23. Chapter 23

Lily and Mab stood in the lounge on my thick dove grey carpet and regarded each other carefully.

“You understand, Lady Lilith, that I will conduct you to where you can meet the dragons and then you will leave my lands and never return” said Mab.

“I understand, your Majesty” answered Lily politely. “You wish only to protect your people, as I wish to protect mine.”

“Very well” said Mab holding out her hand. “Take my hand.”

We held hands and suddenly we were standing beside the lake. Queen Mab nodded to Bill and turned away, then she looked back for a moment.

“Good luck!” she said and walked away, slowly fading until she vanished from sight completely.

Lily watched her with her head on one side. “Neat trick!” she said. “I wonder if she'd teach me to do that.”

I turned to look down along the lakeshore and saw three large forms lying on the sandy shore. I recognised the black of Arzosah and the bronze of Siriothrax. The third dragon was a stranger. His scales were a metallic grey edged with blue so that he looked as though he were armoured in steel.

Arzosah stood up and shook herself, turning her head to where we stood and began to walk over to us.

 _“Alex! At last, we've been waiting for you”_ she said.

Siriothrax and the other dragon, heaved themselves to their feet and followed her.

 _“William! It's good to see you again”_ he said. _“This is Sargon, he was named for a great King and founder of a dynasty in our ancient homelands. He has been chosen to carry the Goddess Lilith.”_

Bill bowed politely to Sargon. “You were chosen?” he asked curiously.

 _“There were many who volunteered their service”_ he answered. _“But I was the most powerful of them and therefore I was granted the honour.”_

His voice had a similar resonance to Siriothrax's but was not quite so deep.

“Then we are equally honoured to meet you.” He turned to Lily and took her hand, pulling her gently forward. “This is Lilith.”

Lily bowed to the three dragons, perhaps not quite so deeply as Bill, but just enough to show respect. “We are very grateful for your help” she said.

Arzosah gave a cough. _“Well now that we've finished introducing ourselves could we perhaps get down to some practicalities? How exactly are we going to do this?”_

Bill shrugged his pack down from his back. “Well, if the idea does not offend you, I took the liberty of bringing some leather straps from the tack room which I thought might be useful. I have assumed that we will sit on your shoulders, just behind the wing joints? If we can fasten the straps around the base of your necks that will give us something to hold onto.” He paused. “Does that meet with your approval?” he asked cautiously. 

We had not been sure how the dragons would react to the idea and sure enough Siriothrax gave a sniff. _“I cannot say that I relish the thought of being harnessed like some common pack animal.......but it is only one strap, and should you fall it would cause us great inconvenience to have to search for you.......very well!”_

We both gave a little sigh of relief. We had thought that we could manage without if the dragons refused but the straps would certainly make it much easier. Bill reached into his pack and pulled them out and I took one and walked over to Arzosah. She heaved a huge, patient sigh and lowered herself down to the ground so that I could reach around her neck. I threw one end of the strap over her shoulders and reached under her neck to grab the end. Fortunately Bill had estimated correctly and I was able to fasten the strap loosely enough to get my hands around it. Bill did the same for Siriothrax and Sargon and we stood back and looked at each other.

“Okay!” said Bill with a confidence I wished I shared. “Let's get this show on the road!” He turned to Siriothrax. “The most important question is where exactly will your portal take us?”

 _“I can take us to the ancient lands where we lived on your world.....to Babylon?”_ he said.

Bill pulled a map out of his pack and unfolded it on the ground before the dragon. “Okay! Babylon......that's Iraq, about sixty miles southwest of Baghdad. Here” he pointed to a spot on the map and Siriothax's great head swung down alongside him to examine the map. 

“We need to be here” Bill indicated another point on the map “nearly two thousand miles to the east.”

Siriothrax shifted his weight to one side and reached forward with a huge claw. _“I know this great body of water”_ he said, indicating the Caspian Sea. _“To the east is a barren land. I crossed it once to scout in the mountains. We like to lair in the high peaks. I could take you here, approximately.....”_

Bill studied the map for a moment and then folded it up and put it back in his pack. “That will do. I have a GPS that will tell us our exact position. We'll need to fly east to Samarkand, from there we can fly through a high pass in the mountains where the old silk road used to go. It comes out to the west of Kashgar. We'll need to keep to the south of the pass and fly high so we're not seen. 

“Um.....Bill...” I said uneasily. “Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan.....these are all war zones. Full of mountain tribes all armed to the teeth. Not to mention the British and US Air Force. Won't they pick us up on radar? The last thing we need is a couple of F15s chasing us.”

“With any luck we'll be too high for anyone on the ground. With regard to the Air Force, we should come out somewhere over Uzbekistan. That's too far east for them to pick us up......I hope!”

Bill fitted the radio earpiece behind Lilith's ear so that the tiny microphone was against her cheek and we all pulled our packs on. I walked up to Arzosah who was sitting calmly watching us.

“Okay....um....how do I.....?”

She chuckled and stretched out a foreleg. _“Climb onto here and then up onto my shoulders”_ she said.

There were bony spikes on her joints and I took hold of one. “Can I put my weight on this?” I asked. “I don't want to hurt you!”

I felt her body shaking as she laughed. _“Trust me Alex, you won't harm me!”_

So I pulled myself up, stepped on the spike and swung my leg over her shoulders. I felt a rush of exhilaration. I was sitting on a dragon! It was fine.....no worse than a camel! Unfortunately I hadn't taken into account the fact that she was still crouching on the ground. 

She stood up.

It was worse than a camel!

I held onto the strap and clung on with my knees, telling myself it was just like riding Titania bareback. I looked around to see Bill and Lily were mounted up and ready too. Siriothrax raised his head and looked back at us. 

_“I will open the portal and you will follow me through, understood?”_

I felt Arzosah rumble an acknowledgement and then we were moving. Her gait was similar to that of a horse, but as she was so much bigger I was quite unused to anything like it. I clung to the leather strap and watched as Siriothrax's great bronze wings opened and beat down strongly, lifting him off the ground. Three or four more strong beats and he was fully airborne. I looked down to see that Arzosah had followed him and was off the ground as well. It was more comfortable as there was no jolt now as she hit the ground, instead there was a curious rolling motion as we were propelled forwards with each beat of her powerful wings.

We were heading out across the lake and Arzosah ceased to beat her wings and started a long glide towards the glassy surface. As we skimmed over the lake I looked down and saw our reflection in the dark water, thousands of bright stars reflected in the water around us. I could hardly think straight for the excitement. Siriothrax was some way ahead and above us and Arzosah began to pound at the air again to catch up. I was watching him and so I got a few seconds warning when he turned sharply and then we were banking steeply around the cliff and heading out over the trees.

I looked back to see Sargon and Lilith just behind us as I heard Siriothrax's voice in my head. _“Now......here is the portal!”_

I stared past him in astonishment. It was as though the dark sky had been ripped open and an ugly gash hung in the air before us, bright silvery light pouring through it. Siriothrax headed for it and pulled in his wings to slip through. Arzosah and I followed. My last thought before we slid into the gap was a brief prayer to any God who might be listening that the light on the other side wasn't daylight.


	24. Chapter 24

Of course it wasn’t daylight. 

I should have known that Bill would have taken the time into account. Perhaps it was because I had been turned in Faery and I had subsequently spent a lot of time there that I didn’t seem to have developed that visceral fear of the sun that other vampires had. Bill, however, was so much older that he felt the pull of the sun by instinct now and he had timed our arrival just as the full moon was rising.

I felt Arzosah spread her wings as we soared out of the portal to find ourselves flying over a barren, rocky landscape, the bright moonlight giving it a strangely sharp clarity. 

Ahead of us was a mountain range, the snow capped peaks exceptionally clear in the moonlight. I saw Bill pull something out of a pocket and examine it. A moment later Siriothrax turned slightly northwards and headed for a dark gap in the mountains which I assumed must be the pass Bill had spoken about. I settled myself a little more comfortably on Arzosah's shoulders and looked down, watching the three strange shadows rushing over the rocky desert floor. I was actually riding a dragon! I could hardly believe it. If there was to be a great battle ahead and I was fated to meet the true death then I felt I had already lived a fuller and more interesting life than most people could ever have imagined. I had seen so much, done so much, I had loved unconditionally and been loved equally in return. There was nothing more that I wanted......

I heard a slight crackling noise in my ear and put a hand up to the earpiece. Bill's voice sounded excited. “We should have brought some speakers!” he said.

“What?”

“And a recording of 'The Ride of the Valkyries'!”

I couldn't help laughing, I glanced over at Siriothrax and gasped. “Um.....that might not be such a good idea!” I said. “Take a look behind you.”

Bill looked back over his shoulder and saw what I was looking at.

Behind us, heading in from the mountains to the north, was a horseman. Riding in mid air. This was not one of the misty, insubstantial mounts of the Wild Hunt but a horse which appeared to be as solid and real as Oberon or Titania except for one thing. It had too many legs. Far too many. The rider was dressed in a leather tunic and breeches, covered with a layer of chain mail beneath a fur cloak. He wore a helmet which looked oddly familiar until I remembered that I had seen one very like it in the British Museum on Professor Hulton's tour. It had been discovered in a ship burial at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk in 1939 and comprised an iron cap with a neck guard at the back and two cheek pieces. There was a ridge running across the top and down the face mask forming a nose between the two eye holes.

“What on earth is that?” called Bill. “That's no normal horse”

“That's Sleipnir!” I answered “Odin's horse.”

“What's wrong with its legs?” asked Bill, looking backwards.

“He has eight legs!”

“What? You mean that's normal?”

“Well it is for him!”

I looked back again and noticed something else. Behind Odin were six other horses in a V formation and they were ridden by six armoured valkyries...... 

Well, he had said that he would help us. I began to feel a little more confident. It appeared that we now had at least two Gods on our side.

In a remarkably short time we reached the southern edge of the ancient city of Samarkand. We kept well to the south, hoping to be unseen by any of the occupants but I could see enough of the city in the bright moonlight to pick out the combination of modern concrete buildings and ancient blue tiled Mosques and Madrassas. We flew due east keeping close to the mountains to avoid being seen. After a while we arrived at the pass and, banking sharply around the edge of the mountainside, flew into the shadow of the great granite cliffs.

On the far side of the pass we came down over the foothills and onto the plains around the city of Kashgar. The meeting place was on the far side of the city, further into the desert and, as we flew over the outlying areas I noticed several large plumes of smoke coming from various buildings.

“Looks as though they've been doing a little raiding!” Bill's voice sounded worried over the radio link.

“If this gets out it could cause us even more trouble” said Lily. “We need to stop this....now! Before it gets out of hand.”

“I quite agree” Bill pointed ahead into a gap in the dunes. “Look over there!”

In the distance I could see what looked like a stain on the sand. It was spreading out from the shadow of the slope. Before them about half a mile away was a dark line in the desert. As I stared down I realised that the tiny dark figures that looked like a swarm of ants were, in fact, people......vampires. We drifted lower and I could pick out individuals. One in particular, huge with a shaggy fur thrown over his shoulders. He looked just as I would have imagined Temujin, or Genghis Khan to have looked as he and his hordes swept across the plains of Mongolia.

We floated silently over the enemy lines unnoticed until we passed over a group of pack horses tied to stakes in the shadow of one of the dunes. They must have caught the scent of the dragons and began to panic. They struggled against the ropes, rearing and kicking until they had pulled free and galloped away back the way we had come, running down several vampires in their blind rush. Weapons and supplies scattering randomly from the packs as they fled.

Bill looked down over Siriothrax’s shoulder. “Well that ought to slow 'em down a little” he said with satisfaction.

As we flew over the open plain between the two groups I suddenly realised that it was not empty after all. Ahead of us were half a dozen of the Chinese vampires running towards our lines, and ahead of them..... There were two vampires, both female, each with dark hair, one was obviously injured and the other had her arm around her, helping her to run, but it was clear from their relative speed that the leading vampire would catch them before they could reach the safety of our lines.

I was just thinking that something about them looked familiar when I felt a stab of fear through the blood bond. “Bill! What is it?”

He was further ahead and I urged Arzosah forwards to close up the gap as his voice came through the earpiece. “It's Azaria! What the hell is she doing here?”

“Well Ulrich did say he needed everyone.....”

“Dammit! I knew we should have brought weapons of some kind! I can't help her!”

 _“Do you wish me to stop this man?”_ asked Siriothrax.

“Can you?” asked Bill frantically. “That's my daughter running from him!”

 _“Then I certainly can!”_ answered Siriothrax, sweeping lower. 

I heard several frightened cries and saw the following vampires stop and stare upwards as Siriothrax's huge shadow passed over them but the one in the lead was too intent on his prey to notice and it therefore came as a complete surprise to him when the great dragon swept low over him and reached down, snatching him up in his claws and then pulling back upwards, his broad powerful wings stirring up small whirlwinds of sand. He soared forward over Azaria and her companion who both looked up and I recognised Li Cheng's progeny Mai. Azaria must have recognised Bill and she punched the air in triumph as they turned and hurried back to the line.

 _“What should I do with him now?”_ he asked as we approached our lines.

“Can you drop him just behind our line?” asked Bill. “He may have useful information.”

By some pre-arranged signal Siriothrax drew back a little and allowed Sargon and Lilith to lead as we soared over the Authority’s lines and swept around in a wide circle to come in behind our forces. I saw the Chinese vampire tumble free of Siriothrax's claws as we passed over the line where he was immediately pounced on by half a dozen of our forces. I could also see various members of the High Council heading towards us, Ulrich in the lead, his eyes wide with astonishment, as the three dragons came in to land. Arzosah gave a great sweep of her wings to slow her forward motion and dropped her hind legs to the ground. She took a few steps forward and then dropped her forelegs down as well, shaking her wings and folding them back, regarding the approaching vampires with disdain.

 _“Please tell me I do not have to kneel before these creatures Alex!”_ she said. 

For a moment I wondered what she meant, then I looked down at the ground and suddenly understood. “Oh no! No that’s okay, I can jump down.”

I heard a faint _“Thank you!”_ in my head and she raised a foreleg so that I could swing my leg over her shoulders and stand on it for a moment before jumping down.

The other two dragons had remained standing as well and Bill and Lilith had jumped down. Lily was heading over to Ulrich but Bill had ignored him and was running over to where Mai and Azaria were sitting on a rock. Arzosah lowered her head to me and I patted her muzzle absently. “I’ll be right back!” I said and ran after Bill. When I caught up he was standing holding Azaria by the shoulders.

“What on earth did you think you were doing!” he was asking. “You could have been killed!”

“So could any of us! I’d have been fine if I hadn’t twisted my ankle!” she said crossly. “We needed to know how many there are and I volunteered to go with Mai.”

“We can tell you how many there are!” growled Bill.

“We didn’t know that though did we? Look Bill, I just wanted to help. If you hadn’t helped the Authority when they told you about me I wouldn’t be here now would I?”

Bill gave a sigh, calming down visibly and leaned forward, placing his forehead against hers. “You’re right” he whispered. “It’s so easy for me to forget that you’re actually older than I am. I have no right to tell you what to do, you are your own person and I’m not your maker.” He put his hand gently against the side of her face, his fingertips stroking her high, chiselled cheekbone. “ You’ll have to forgive me, but to me you’ll always be my little girl…..”

Azaria put her arms around his waist and hugged him fiercely. “I love you Bill, you know that. You’ve been more of a father to me than my real maker was. But you taught me to have a sense of responsibility to others.” She grinned up at him and poked him in the chest with her finger. “So it’s your own fault!”


	25. Chapter 25

We turned back to where Ulrich stood with Lilith, Bill's arm around Azaria's shoulders. Ulrich was staring at the three dragons, who were standing a few yards away watching him curiously. Bill stepped between them and turned towards Ulrich. 

He did at least have the grace to look embarrassed. “I owe you an apology Bill” he said. “I should have known that you wouldn't let us down, but.......I never expected this!” He looked over Bill's shoulder at the dragons as though he thought he might have imagined them. “They're real aren't they? Where on earth did you find them?”

“Let's just say I wasn't anywhere on earth” answered Bill with a smile. “Now, we need to talk, please get the rest of the High Council together.” 

Ulrich laughed. “You're giving me orders now?”

“Certainly! Didn't Lilith's instructions sink in?” asked Bill mildly.

“Come on Bill! I really don't think......”

“Ulrich! I was there remember? When she told you to obey me, as you would obey her?” 

Ulrich looked as though Bill had slapped him in the face. “Oh come on! She wasn't serious!”

Bill leaned forward a little and gave a tiny little smile. “If I were you Ulrich, I wouldn't make any further assumptions about what she means or doesn't mean! I suspect that you'll only need to get it wrong once.”

He placed a hand on Ulrich's shoulder and turned him to face the dragons. He gave them a little bow and said. “This is Ulrich Von Schröeder. He is the head of the Vampire Authority and Lilith's representative.”

There was a pause. “Aren't you going to introduce them?” asked Ulrich.

“No” said Bill with another little smile. “You don't need to know their names.”

I thought the tension in the dragons relaxed a little and they turned their heads to Bill and nodded respectfully. I walked over to Arzosah who lowered her head towards me. Stroking her muzzle gently I asked “Is there anything you need? Food or water?” I looked around. “I've no idea what we have but I'll do my best to find something.”

She pushed her muzzle into my hand and I heard her voice in my head. _“You are a thoughtful child. You are very kind, but no. There is nothing we need at the moment.”_

I felt a pull through the blood bond and turned to see Bill beckoning me to follow him.

Arzosah gave me a little push with her nose. _“Go, child.......we'll be fine!”_ she said with a touch of humour in her expression.

I ran after Bill who was walking with Ulrich and Lilith towards a large tent which had been set up behind the lines. As we got closer I saw that Odin and the valkyries had followed us down and were also riding towards the tent. Ulrich turned to see was I was looking at and stopped dead in his tracks. As I watched what faint colour he had drain from his face I suddenly realised that I really had no idea how old he was. He had always seemed to be perfectly at ease in the modern world but now it occurred to me to wonder if perhaps, in life, he had worshipped Odin as had many of the Germanic tribes of northern Europe.

Odin pulled up about ten yards away and dismounted. I noticed then that Sleipnir was considerably larger than a normal horse and his eyes glowed red, reminding me of the great black horse ridden by the Erlking. Lilith turned and walked towards him. She held out her hand, clearly inviting him to join us. Odin tossed Sleipnir's reins to the leading valkyrie and they both preceded us into the tent. The six valkyries remained mounted and watchful, standing silently in a line beside Odin's great grey horse.

Inside the tent were half a dozen of the Authority's black clad security guards holding between them the Chinese vampire who had been chasing Azaria. I heard Bill hiss and his fangs slid out as he saw him. I was shocked at his youth, he couldn't have been more than eighteen years old. His clothing was torn and ripped away in places where Siriothrax's claws had grasped him, but he had obviously healed. He spotted Azaria and lunged forward. Bill went for him, fangs out, with no hesitation but the security guards already had him. There were five of them but he didn't give up, they had to wrestle him to the ground, writhing and struggling until the sixth guard arrived with a pair of silver handcuffs which enabled them to subdue him.

We stood back and watched as the young Chinese vampire struggled weakly on the ground at our feet still hissing angrily. Two of the guards pulled him roughly to his feet and held him as Ulrich and the Magisters stepped forward.

“I doubt if you speak English do you?” asked Ulrich.

The young man simply glared back at him.

“Master Li Cheng! Could you come over here please?” he called.

I turned to see Li Cheng gazing sadly at the young vampire, who hissed something at him in Chinese. Ulrich turned to him with a raised eyebrow. 

“He simply says that you are the enemy!” said the old man with a sigh. “He is completely under the control of his maker, my old enemy Sang. He has no will of his own.”

“Then we must restore it to him” said Bill quietly. He glanced at Lilith and gave her an encouraging little smile.

She stepped forward and approached the captive vampire. He struggled to back away from her, hissing and muttering to himself. 

“What does he say?” she asked, turning to Li Cheng.

He looked down at his feet. “My lady, he says that you are a false Goddess” he admitted reluctantly.

Everyone froze for a second but she merely smiled and turned back to the struggling vampire. “Well, let's see shall we?”

She nodded at the two guards who held the vampire still and forced him to his knees before her. Placing a hand on his head she closed her eyes and appeared to concentrate for a moment. Suddenly the boy's body went into a convulsive spasm as though all his muscles had received a powerful electric shock. He screamed and collapsed, hanging limp in the guards' hands.

Lily leaned down and placed a hand gently under his chin. “Release him!” she said firmly. The young vampire fell to his knees and stared up at her, confusion filling his eyes. He looked around vaguely. Li Cheng said something to him and he replied at length.

“He asks your pardon my Lady” he said turning to Lilith with a broad smile. “He wishes to know how he may be of assistance to his Goddess.”

Evidently Lilith had somehow broken the hold his maker had over him. With Li Cheng as interpreter Ulrich, Bill, Lilith and the two Magisters interrogated the young Chinese vampire for some time. I watched Mai's expression change from slight boredom to horror as she listened to the answers to her maker's questions. Clearly he had uncovered some extremely disturbing information.

While they talked I moved over to the edge of the tent where Odin stood silent, watching. He had taken off his helmet and looked down at me as I approached.

“You followed us here? Why?” I asked.

He considered my question for a moment. “As I told you, I will help you if I can.”

“You said that this battle could be the spark for a greater catastrophe” I said slowly. “But if you have already seen it happen then what's the point of trying to stop it? Doesn't what you see always come to pass?”

His lips twitched in amusement. “Not always!” He lowered his head and regarded me seriously, his one eye sparkling in the dim light. “There are certain points in time where the future can be altered. Where mortal actions can change the destiny of mankind.......this is one of them.” 

Wow! No pressure then, I thought. 

I walked back over to Bill wondering what exactly all this meant.

“It is as we thought” said Li Cheng eventually. “The sanguinista leader is nominally in charge but his troops are composed almost entirely of vampires made by Sang who have been commanded to obey him without question. Worse, he plans to take over the Authority's position and has been planning it for some time. This young man tells me that he was born to be a slave. Apparently Sang has been kidnapping humans for many years. He keeps them at his fortress and breeds them to produce more malleable progeny. He turns them at the age of seventeen or eighteen so that they will be more dependent on him.”

There was a horrified silence.

“What he is doing is blasphemy!” muttered Jorge, the American Magister.

I must admit I was surprised. I had half expected him to approve.

“The blood is sacred and should not be wasted in this way! He is creating slaves, not vampires!”

“But the question is what can we do about it?” asked Ulrich.

“We should allow the Goddess to wipe them out!” said Felipe de Castro, without hesitation. “They are worthless to us, and dangerous.”

“But they are still our brothers” murmured Gustav Van Straten uneasily.

“What difference does that make?” growled Ulrich. “What they are doing is not only foolish, it's wrong.....evil! You know this!”

“But it doesn't matter can't you see that?” said Bill angrily.

Ulrich was clearly stunned by this remark. “What? I can't believe that you, of all people, would say that!”

“I mean it doesn't matter to them!” explained Bill. “You heard what that poor boy said. They're doing this because they are compelled to do it, they have no will of their own. The distinction between right and wrong, between good and evil is simply meaningless if you don't have the freedom to choose between them.”

There was a pensive silence in the tent. I had to admit that this was one of the most profound statements I had heard in a long time.

“So what do you suggest?” asked Ulrich somewhat helplessly.

“It's obvious” he said. “Somehow, we need to take out Sang.”


	26. Chapter 26

We stood outside the Command Tent looking down the slight slope to the dunes which sheltered the Sanguinistas' army. Odin had walked the short distance back to his horse and stood talking in a low voice with the leading Valkyrie. It was my first opportunity to get a good look at her.

Her outfit was reminiscent of Xena the Warrior Princess except that she had long blond hair lying down her back in two thick plaits topped by the classic winged helmet. The gleaming steel breastplate pushed her breasts upwards revealing an impressive expanse of pale cleavage. Dull black chain mail covered her body to the hips, exposing a pair of muscular thighs and boots with metal greaves covering her shins. A studded leather belt was slung around her hips from which hung a long sword.

In short, she could have walked straight out of some testosterone-fuelled teenage fantasy.

I remembered Sobek telling me that the Gods manifest themselves in the form that humans imagine them to be. Wow! That was a lot of fantasy role playing games right there! She glanced up, saw me watching her and frowned.

I took a step closer to Bill and my eyes followed his gaze down to the army of the Sanguinistas. I quickly spotted the huge vampire I had seen from the air and tapped Bill gently on the arm.

“Is that him?” I whispered. “The big one with the fur over his shoulders......looks like a rougher version of Genghis Khan?”

“Yes, that's him. Probably imagines himself to be a modern version....he’s definitely the ringleader” said Bill thoughtfully. “I don’t think he’s bright enough to be in charge but he’s old and strong and according to Li Cheng, he has control of the majority of the younger ones. If we could take him out we’d have a much better chance of convincing the others. Most of them are half convinced already, it’s only his influence that’s holding them back.”

“They’re too far away!” growled Ulrich, frustrated. “It's out of range of our weapons and no one could throw anything that far with any accuracy. You’d need a guided missile to be sure of hitting him from here!”

A thought suddenly struck me. “A guided missile! Of course!”

A dozen heads turned to me and I saw a slow smile appear on Bill’s face. “I know that look!” he said. “You’ve got something?”

I glanced over to where Odin stood beside Sleipnir, watching us. “Okay! You’ve all heard of Thor’s hammer right? Mjöllnir? It always hits whatever he aims at and flies right back to his hand. It has some kind of targeting spell on it. Well Odin has a spear, Gugnir, with similar properties. It always hits what you aim at.” I lowered my voice slightly. “I saw it in the holster behind his saddle, perhaps he might be persuaded to lend it to us?”

Ulrich was gazing at me in awe. “Brilliant, that’s just brilliant!” he nudged Bill. “See, I knew she’d be an asset to the High Council.”

Bill raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“So? Who’s going to ask him?” I asked, knowing perfectly well what the answer would be.

Ulrich gave me a look. “Well you’re the expert! You’re used to dealing with Gods….”

Bill smiled. He'd clearly been expecting that. “We'll both go” he said. Then he turned to Lily. “But I think you should be the one to strike at Sang. After all, you're the one he’s insulting by teaching his progeny that we are worshipping a false Goddess. So shall we see if the Allfather is prepared to lend his spear to you?”

He made a polite gesture indicating that Lily should precede him. Odin saw us coming and turned from the Valkyrie to wait for us, removing his helmet. He nodded to me and Bill and then turned to Lily. “You are Lilith are you not? Although this is not your original form?”

I remembered her telling us that the true immortals could recognise each other, and Bast had said much the same thing, if not quite so politely.

“I am” she answered. “We have a favour to ask of you.”

We explained how Sang was controlling large numbers of the younger vampires in the opposing camp and that his death might remove the necessity for any kind of battle at all.

He gazed at us in silence for a moment and then reached into the holster that was fixed behind the saddle and pulled out a long spear. I noticed that there were runes carved on the shaft and on the blade and I could see a faint blue glow of magic over the engraving. He held his hands out to her with the spear laid across them.

“If it will prevent the great battle I have seen in my dreams then please, go ahead!” he said.

The Valkyrie frowned again. “Is this wise my Lord?” she asked.

“It is given to me to see the future Brunhilde. I paid dearly for this talent and I will make the decisions!” he said softly but firmly.

I smiled to myself and felt her eyes on me. Then suddenly I felt something slither over my skin as though I had been attacked by a swarm of ants, just for a moment, and then it was gone. It felt something like the touch of the fae magic but, whatever it was, it seemed to slide off me.

I looked up to see the Valkyrie, Brunhilde, staring at me with a curiously expectant expression.

“Hey!” I cried, realising what had happened. “She just tried to choose me!”

Odin turned and looked at her disapprovingly.

“What do you mean?” asked Bill

“That's what they do!” I explained. “They choose the warriors who will be slain on the battlefield.”

Bill's eyes darkened and his fangs slid out as he turned to Brunhilde with a snarl. “Don't panic” I said “I didn't work.”

I turned back to her with a smug smile. “I'd advise you not to try that again blondie! I doubt if your particular talent will work here since everyone on the field is already dead!” I looked away, wanting to appear unconcerned, then I turned back. “And by the way, those wings on your helmet look completely ridiculous!”

I saw Bill's lips twitch as he struggled not to smile but others were not quite so successful and I could practically feel Brunhilde's glare burning into my back as we walked back to Ulrich, Lily carrying the magical spear of Odin.

Li Cheng was standing next to him and pointed out the huge shambling figure of Sang who was standing in the midst of the younger vampires. Lily looked down at him.

“William! He’s enormous!” She turned to him, a new respect in her eyes. “You fought that monster?”

Bill laughed “Only long enough to give me time to run away!” he said.

“Don’t put yourself down William” murmured Li Cheng. “No-one had ever actually got away before!”

We stood anxiously watching as Lily hefted the spear in her hand and flung it in the direction of Sang. It flew down the slope and I saw Ulrich eyebrows rise a little. I mean, we all knew what she was, but it was something else to see her power demonstrated. Even Ulrich had to acknowledge to himself that he hadn't half her strength. The vampires in the opposing lines were obviously shocked to see the strength of her throw but they had plenty of warning. Sang simply moved out of the way. 

There was a murmur of surprise which turned to horror as they realised that the spear had changed direction to follow him. He moved again, in the opposite direction, clearly unable to believe what he had just seen, but Gugnir changed course again. The younger vampires in front of him simply flung themselves to the ground and Sang, after a moment's frozen panic, turned and began to run, but it was no use. He made about a dozen yards before Odin's spear caught him between the shoulder blades and flung him to the ground. I had just time to wonder if it would be able to kill him when he seemed to dissolve into a pool of blood. Evidently the spear had not only the power to hit whatever it was aimed at, but to kill it as well.

Have you ever dropped a drop of liquid soap onto a film of oil on water? The oil film breaks and pulls away leaving a circle of clear water. Well that’s what happened when Sang met the true death. The crowd of young vampires surrounding him pulled back immediately leaving a pool of blood in the centre of an ever widening circle of sand. 

From our slightly elevated position we could see those around the edges of the crowd beginning to drift away. 

Ulrich was watching intently. “It’s working!” he breathed. “They’re deserting!”

He turned to the commander of his security who was standing next to him. “Now! Get down there and hit them hard, we should be able to take out the leaders in the confusion.”

Before the man could move Lilith had stepped forward. “Wait! You are to leave anyone who wishes to desert, do you understand. If they are running away you do not kill them!”

The big vampire looked down at her patiently. “That’s the best time Ma’am! It could save us a lot of trouble later.”

“You will not harm them!” 

Lily’s tone left absolutely no room for doubt. 

“Very good Ma’am!” he said with a bow.

There was a blur and a wave of black clad vampires flooded down the slope and crashed into the opposing line. Immediately we could see that the majority of the opposition had no stomach for a fight. They had just seen and felt their maker die at the hands of the woman he had called a false Goddess. They probably had no idea of what was happening.

“Um…..should we let these guys just run away?” I asked. Lily turned and glared at me. “No, no I don’t mean we should kill them! I mean we should help them. They can’t have any idea how to look after themselves can they?”

“That’s a very good point!” said Bill. “We need to bring them in, to take care of them.”

Ulrich sighed. “It’s going to be a bit of a problem for my men to look out for real enemies and round up the rest as well.”

Bill looked back to where the three dragons were watching the fleeing vampires with considerable interest. “I think we might be able to help you there!”

Bill and I ran back to where Siriothrax stood, eyes blazing with anticipation. _“You wish us to help you hunt these vampires?”_ he asked excitedly. 

“Well….in a way. We don’t want you to hurt them, just drive them back up here, prevent them from getting away into the desert. Can you do that?” asked Bill. 

Siriothrax looked just a little disappointed. _“Well, yes. We can do that.”_ He said. _"Hurry, come with us!”_

He and Arzosah crouched down to allow Bill and I to climb up onto their shoulders again. Sargon swung his head in our direction. _“Shall I join you?”_ he asked.

“Lilith should stay here with the other members of the High Council but we would welcome your help” said Bill, his voice a little jerky as the three dragons ran down the slight slope and took off, gliding low over the heads of the few Chinese vampires who were still fighting and soaring across the plain after Sang’s fleeing progeny.

We caught them up rapidly and overtook them. Bill and I were still wearing the short wave radios and I heard him asking Siriothrax how we could get them to turn round.

 _“Leave that to us!”_ said Siriothrax grimly.

I gripped the leather strap around Arzosah’s neck as she followed him in a steep banking manoeuvre so that we were flying back towards the crowd of panicked vampires. I felt her give a little cough and looked over at Siriothrax who was flying alongside us. A trickle of smoke was trailing out of his nostrils.

Uh oh!.........I hung on as the two dragons swooped low and split up, each breathing a column of fire vertically down onto the ground below them. We banked around in a semicircle and I turned to look back. Bill and Siriothrax were on the opposite side of the group and behind us was a trail of fire, bits of dead wood, grass and other vegetation was burning fiercely and to my astonishment the heat of the dragons' fire had melted the sand into a bubbling river of glass. The young Chinese vampires were now trapped between the fire, which Sargon was re-igniting behind us, and the line of the Authority's soldiers. They stood for a moment staring up at us and then began to fall to their knees.

As we flew back towards the Authority's lines we saw that the remaining Sanguinista forces were surrendering and the Authority's guards were already running towards the kneeling youngsters and beginning to herd them like sheep back towards Lilith and Ulrich.


	27. Chapter 27

By the time we got back there was a crowd of terrified young vampires kneeling before Lilith. They were surrounded by armed members of the Authority's soldiers but it seemed hardly necessary. They were clearly frightened and disoriented by the shock of the sudden loss of their maker. I felt rather sorry for them, it must have been like waking up from a bad dream, to find yourself in the middle of a nightmare. The woman you had been told was your enemy, turning out to be a genuine Goddess after all.

Ulrich was on the phone busy organising more transport helicopters to move everyone out to a safe place before the dawn came. I for one had no wish to have to sleep in the desert. I turned to see Bill and Lily coming towards me.

“Ulrich thinks Lily should go back with them and I think he's right. I think we should probably go too” he said.

“Okay, if you think so.”

We walked over to the dragons and I saw the eyes of all the young vampires follow us. They came forward to meet us, lowering their heads to our level.

Lilith stood in front of them and bowed to them. “I must thank you for your help. Without your assistance things might have gone very differently here tonight. We have to return now as these creatures need our help but if Queen Mab will permit it I should like to visit you soon and tell you all I can remember of Tiamat.”

 _“We should like that very much”_ answered Siriothrax. 

I suddenly thought of something. “Oh wait a moment!” I ran to Arzosah and reached up to unfasten the leather strap around her neck. Bill laughed and did the same for Siriothrax and Sargon.

 _“Thank you!”_ said Arzosah. _“I should not have liked to return to our world wearing a collar like some pet dog!”_

We stood back and watched as the three dragons took off. They swept around in a broad circle and soared over our heads as a dark gap appeared in the starlit sky and they disappeared through it back to Faery.

We turned around to see that the loading of the helicopters had paused as everyone watched the dragons depart. “Okay everyone! Show's over!” called Ulrich. “Let's get moving!”

But it appeared that the show was not quite over yet. As I watched Ulrich's men loading the captive vampires onto the helicopters I noticed the six Valkyries mounting up. Odin led Sleipnir over towards us and nodded politely to Lilith. I noticed that someone had retrieved the spear, Gugnir, and returned it to him.

“You did well here tonight! I was pleased to be able to help you” he said. “You won the battle with fewer casualties than I thought possible. It was well done!”

Bill held out a hand and, after a moment's hesitation, Odin took it. As they shook hands I noticed something behind him. A shimmering light had appeared in the sky, then suddenly there was a rainbow as broad as a wide road sloping down to the ground behind him.

I stared at it with my mouth open for a moment and then stepped onto it. It was like standing on glass. I walked up a few feet and then jumped up and down. 

“Wow! Look at this! I'm on the Bifrost bridge to Asgard!”

I turned to Odin who had mounted Sleipnir and walked him up the rainbow bridge beside me. “That's what this is, right? I could walk up this to the home of the Gods?”

He held out his hand. “You would not need to walk my dear. I would be glad to take you. I would be honoured if you would visit us.”

I froze. “Um.....” I looked back at Bill standing on the cold sand of the desert, watching me. “I think I'll take a rain check on that” I said.

Odin put his head on one side and looked down at me, clearly puzzled.

“Some other time perhaps......we have a lot of work to do.” I explained.

He smiled. “I have to work on my understanding of modern speech!” he said. “But I would be glad to welcome you anytime.” He turned back towards Bill. “Both of you!”

I walked back down the bridge to Bill and held his hand as we watched Odin gallop up the rainbow and disappear, followed by the Valkyries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we returned to London it seemed strange to us that nothing appeared to have changed. So much had happened that, to us, everything was different. However, in the mortal world, vampires were still being viewed with fear and suspicion due to the upheaval caused by the destruction of the Tru Blood factories. Although other facilities had been commandeered by the Authority and production was almost back to normal, the news media was still full of stories of vampire attacks and mysterious deaths and disappearances.

However Bill managed to turn what might have been a serious problem into an advantage. We discovered that the expedition to Central Asia had resulted in quite a few of the Authority’s soldiers deciding that they wanted more of that kind of life. They wanted to form an army, perhaps to protect us if we were threatened in the future. Bill was not entirely sure that an army of vampires would be looked upon with equanimity, particularly in the current climate, and his idea was to turn them into a kind of elite, special forces unit and hire them out to various governments under strict conditions. We certainly didn't want them used for any kind of political advantage.

Ulrich asked Bill if, since it was his idea, he would vet the requests, and the first one he chose was to help an African state search for several hundred young girls who had been abducted from their school by fanatical religious terrorists. When, using their enhanced senses and their unnatural strength and speed, they were able to track down and rescue all the girls with no casualties, except for a few of the abductors who no-one was particularly worried about anyway, our popularity was increased dramatically.

The hundreds of young vampires that were rescued from Sang's control were initially sent back to Beijing with the Chinese representatives of the Authority. They were lodged in an old army barracks and cared for by several older vampires for a few weeks until they had settled down and formed friendships amongst themselves. Then, at Bill's suggestion, groups of friends were interviewed and asked if they wished to remain in China or perhaps to travel and see a little of the world. Some opted to stay but a surprisingly large number decided that they wanted to leave, perhaps due to the trauma of their childhood and turning. The Authority was happy to arrange for them to leave the bad memories of their youth behind and they were sent to live with groups of more experienced vampires all over the world. Several groups went to the US and Europe and both Theophanes, with encouragement from Rahotep, and Rafi sponsored groups to live with the nests in Cairo and Alexandria.

One group came to live with the Authority in London and Li Cheng escorted them. In return for his help he had been granted Sang's estates in Northern China, including the fortress the first captive had told us about. Of course we invited him to stay with us when he was in London and I remember vividly how he sat on one of our sofas with a Tru Blood and told us what he had found there.

“I have had humans to serve me for centuries, you know this William, you met many of them yourself” he said. “I always treated them well did I not? I hoped that they even liked me! But Sang's servants.......they were beyond anything I had ever seen. They were either glamoured until they were incapable of thinking for themselves or had been flogged into submission.”

He paused and took a swig of his Tru Blood. “But that wasn't the worst of it. When I went down into the dungeons underneath the fortress what I found there made me sick with horror. There were dozens of humans caged like animals. Males on one side, females on the other.” 

He smiled sadly at us. “I'm a soft old man, my first instinct was to free them all but I knew I couldn't do that. I had been told in no uncertain terms by my superiors in Beijing that I should do all I could to ensure that Sang's atrocities did not become known. Besides, they had no wish to leave. They were.....” he paused, thinking “........what is the modern word? Institutionalised? Many had been born there and had lived all their lives in those dungeons. There were children there William!” he said, his eyes pink with tears. “Human children who had never seen the sun! Children who were destined to become Sang's slave progeny just like these young people I've brought to London.”

Bill and I sat stunned, not knowing what to say to him.

“I released them from the cells of course, organised good food for them and decent clothing and accommodation, and now they work for me. They serve me in the house and work the gardens and the fields. I think they can hardly believe that they are no longer locked up like animals. I fear that they are afraid of punishment still. I keep discovering new horrors that Sang had devised, last week was perhaps the worst. A young man came to me in my study, he was about eighteen years old, almost ready to have been turned. He brought a young girl with him, they were both frightened but she was terrified, he had to practically drag her into my presence and she stood looking at the floor, trembling while he went down on his knees and kow towed. He explained that he loved the girl and he wished to be with her and asked if I would check The Book to see if they were able to be together.

“Book?” I asked him. “What Book?”

He went to a cupboard in the study and pulled out a huge leather bound book. I heaved it onto the table and opened it. Oh William! It was a stud book! The records of Sang's breeding programme. Obviously they knew about it and wanted me to approve their........liaison!”

He looked up at us defiantly. “I had a brazier brought in and I burned it in front of them. I probably shouldn't have done it.....it was evidence which the Authority might have wanted but I couldn't bear the thought of keeping it. Besides, it was a gesture to them. I told them that those days were over. That they were free to choose for themselves who they wanted to spend their lives with.”

Bill leaned forward and placed a hand on Li Cheng's knee. “You shouldn't have to deal with this alone!” he said. “You were not responsible for any of this. If anything I bear just as much blame since I ran away like a coward and didn't kill him when I had the chance!”

Li Cheng laughed. “Oh William! Don't overestimate yourself! Many vampires had tried to kill Sang both before and after you encountered him and none ever succeeded. Had you stayed you would almost certainly have been killed as well.”

Bill gave a little smile. “Yes, you're probably right. But that doesn't invalidate my main point. You need not do this alone. I'm sure that the older people will be happy to stay and serve you, I know you'll treat them well. But if any of the younger ones wish to leave then we will do as we have done for these young vampires. The Authority will help them settle anywhere they wish. Find them accommodation, work, anything they need. Sang destroyed these people's families, their support network. Now we have an obligation to care for them for the rest of their lives.”

Li Cheng looked a little doubtful. “Will Ulrich agree to this?” he asked.

“Yes! He will!” said Bill firmly. “I'll make sure of it!”


	28. Chapter 28

Before we left for Central Asia we had given a sample of the blood of Tiamat to Dr Pasteur and, much to our surprise, he and Dr Jenner appeared to have managed to isolate at least one element which they were able to reproduce. The resulting compound proved to act as a highly effective antibiotic which, owing to the over prescribing of antibiotics generally and the resulting immunity by several highly dangerous bacteria, was likely to be of great benefit to human medicine. Several of the more short-sighted members of the Authority had dismissed this line of research as being of no use to us, but fortunately Lily had listened to Bill's lessons and learned that, to be safe, we needed to have the human population on our side.

We contacted the General Medical Council and invited two of their top research scientists to visit the Authority's Headquarters. I made sure I was at the High Council meeting when they arrived and were introduced to our researchers. I wanted to see their reactions when introduced to Dr Pasteur and Dr Jenner and I wasn't disappointed! The two representatives were escorted into the Council Chamber by Olivier, who had met them in the foyer. 

Dr Harper was a consultant at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London and I watched as his eyes went around the conference table, stopping on Dr Pasteur. He paused for a moment and frowned.....he had that look you get when you meet someone and you just know that you've seen them before somewhere but you can't remember where it was. Of course Pasteur had been photographed so it was possible to recognise him but Dr Jenner had lived in an age before photography and the only images of him were paintings so the scientist's glance had passed over him, unrecognised. His colleague Dr Bowen appeared not to have noticed anything unusual and sat down at the end of the conference table beside him.

“Good evening gentlemen” said Ulrich cheerfully. “It was good of you to respond to our invitation.”

“Well, it's not often that we receive such a request” answered Dr Harper. “I was intrigued by your suggestion that you had something which may be of value to us. I'm sure we've all heard stories of the healing powers of vampire blood, although I understand that it's generally used more as a recreation drug?” he turned to Dr Bowen with a raised eyebrow.

Ulrich frowned. “Yes.......well the use of our blood isn't something we generally approve of for any purpose, certainly not as a drug. Sadly though, there are many humans who are happy to kill our kind to get it!”

“Sadly there are also many of your kind who are happy to sell it to them in order to enslave humans!” said Dr Bowen. “I work with addicts and I've heard some stories......”

I noticed several expressions hardening around the table as Bill stepped in. “There is good and bad in all of us Dr Bowen, vampire and human alike. We must just do the best we can with what we have” he said mildly.

“However, this is not what you came here for gentlemen” said Olivier quickly. “Please allow me to introduce you to our two research scientists, Dr Louis Pasteur and Dr Edward Jenner” he said, indicating the two doctors.

There was a momentary silence as the two visitors took in this information. I watched Dr Harper's face as it dawned on him why Dr Pasteur had seemed familiar and then I could practically see him wondering who else might still be around. Humans, despite the Authority's best efforts, still tended to think of vampires as monsters rather than people and I suddenly realised that, if we were able to persuade a few who had been famous historical figures to go public then this might help them to see us as real people. I made a mental note to mention this to Bill later.

I was thinking about this while Dr Pasteur was explaining their findings to the two representatives of the General Medical Council.

“You will, no doubt, be well aware that many bacteria are now becoming resistant to the more usual forms of antibiotic” he explained. “However, our breakthrough has been to find a form of antibiotic which is equally capable of changing its form to combat the resistant forms of bacteria.”

“But nothing like that has ever been discovered before!” said Dr Harper. “Where did it come from?”

“That, I'm afraid we are unable to tell you” said Dr Jenner. “But if you would care to join us we would be happy to show you how we have reproduced this compound.”

“Of course! We'd be delighted!” said Dr Harper. “But........I hope you won't find my question impolite or inappropriate but......what will you expect from us in exchange for this?”

There was a hush for a moment as the assembled members of the High Council looked up the table at Bill and Ulrich. There had been a massive argument about this the previous evening when several members had tried to insist that we register the patent on the new compound and sell it to the highest bidding pharmaceutical company. I was absolutely against this, both on basic principles and due to the fact that I had a low regard for the ethics of pharmaceutical companies in general. However, as the youngest member of the Council my objections were disregarded.

Bill had suggested that we simply hand over the compound to the General Medical Council on the basis that it was no use to us and of great benefit to them. There were still reports of vampire attacks coming in as Tru Blood was still in short supply and the threat from the Sanguinistas, although they had suffered a severe setback with our victory in China, had not been completely eliminated. His argument was that we needed to distance ourselves from the idea that vampires were movie monsters, to show that we were on their side and to do this we had to be seen to be doing something to help humans. This new drug would go a long way to demonstrate that.

Fortunately Ulrich agreed and now he smiled down the table at Dr Harper. “On the contrary doctor, it's a perfectly reasonable question” he answered. “I'm sure you are aware of the......problems we've been having lately?” he asked.

The two doctors glanced at each other. “You're referring to the bombing of the Tru Blood factories?” he asked. “Well, yes.”

Ulrich put his elbows on the conference table and steepled his fingers together. “I'm going to be perfectly frank with you gentlemen. We are currently having to deal with a group of.......well, religious fanatics would probably the best way to describe them I suppose. They are doing their best to disrupt our efforts to live peacefully alongside you. We will do everything we can to contain these vampires and we are hoping that the gift of this discovery will go some way to convincing you of our sincerity.”

Dr Harper looked suitably shocked. “You would......give this to us, freely?” he asked.

“As a gesture of good faith” answered Ulrich with a smile.

The two doctors stared up the table at him. “I......I don't know what to say!” said Dr Harper. “If this compound does what Dr Pasteur claims then it could be the greatest asset to human medicine for centuries!”

I noticed Pasteur bristled slightly at the implication that his conclusions might not be correct. He stood up. “Then by all means let us go and see for ourselves shall we?” He said.

We remained seated as they showed the two visitors out and down the corridors to their laboratory, already discussing possible testing regimes.

Bill waited until the door had closed behind them. “Nice one, Ulrich!” he said with a grin. “A gesture of good faith! I like it!”

Ulrich sighed. “Well let's hope it works shall we!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We left London the next evening to return to the Mill House and Bill then turned his charm on Queen Mab and used all his considerable powers of persuasion to induce her to allow Lily to return to Faery one last time. He explained to her that Lily had promised to tell the dragons what she knew of their mother Goddess Tiamat.

She still wasn't happy about Lily using our portal and we had promised that we wouldn't tell her about it so Mab took us personally to the cliffs above our cottage. I looked down and gasped. Below us on the strip of grass between the cottage and the lake were hundreds of dragons, their iridescent scales glittering in the bright sunlight.

Mab turned to Bill with a smile. “You see!” she said “You weren't the only one trying to persuade me to allow Lilith to return here. Lord Siriothrax was most insistent.”

There were dragons of all colours and sizes ranging from the great bronze Siriothrax with Arzosah beside him to little Nyassa who I could just see hiding under Arzosah's outstretched wing.

“I had no idea there were so many!” I whispered.

“They thrive in this place” explained Mab. “Although they are sometimes hunted by some of the Fae, they are usually well able to take care of themselves and have no real enemies.”

We walked down to the lake where Siriothrax came forward with the steel-blue scaled Sargon who had carried Lily and they introduced her to their kin.

Bill and I kept back and sat down quietly on the stone bench where we listened enthralled, as she told them tales of the days when the world was young. When Gods and dragons walked the earth and humans wove stories about them that would later become myths and legends.

After this meeting we would often come to the cottage to find a couple of dragons lounging on the grass beside the lake, sunning themselves. Usually Siriothrax and Arzosah, although there were several others who occasionally visited. They did not offer us their names and we knew better than to ask. They were always pleased to see us and we would sit outside in the last rays of the setting sun answering their endless questions about the world that they had abandoned so long ago.

We rode the dragons again, many times, as they were happy to take us to explore Faery and, on one memorable occasion we swept into a huge cavern in the side of a dormant volcano to see a group of dragons dozing on a ledge in the warmth. 

Bill was very busy over the next few years with the High Council as they gradually brought the rebellion by the Sanguinistas under control. We would probably never be entirely free of them but at least we were now working with governments on an equal footing as the gift of the compound distilled from the blood of the Goddess had arrived just in time to prevent a catastrophe amongst humans when numerous diseases which were thought to be under control began to re-emerge with new antibiotic resistant strains. The new compound proved to be capable of mutating just as fast as any bacteria and soon it was in use all over the world.

Gradually he was able to get back home more often and we spent more and more time at the Mill House. Bill grousing that everyone expected so much of him and complained when he didn't turn up for meetings.

“They never complain when Olivier doesn't show!” he grumbled. “Or you for that matter!”

I smiled. “It's your own fault darling” I said. “When you consistently behave better than others then they come to expect better of you. It’s not fair but it’s because they have learned to hold you to a higher standard than others.”

He slipped a hand around my waist and pulled me to him. “How about you?” he asked. “Do you hold me to a high standard as well?”

“The very highest!” I agreed with a smile. “But then.......I always have.......”


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Epilogue**

I sat in a wooden garden chair on the terrace looking out over the immaculate lawns of the Mill House down to the silver thread of the river. Alex and I had properties all over the world now but this one was our favourite. The portal to Faery was in this house. A place that was important to us for so many reasons, not least that we could see the sun again. I was tired but happy, around me on the terrace were the remnants of the party we had just held for my birthday. I was three hundred years old tonight.

All our friends had been there, Gerry and Susie, who had persuaded him to turn her after the Sanguinista rebellion had been finally quashed. Rahotep and Amina had come over specially from Cairo, bringing Rafi and Louisa who were now the joint heads of the nest in Alexandria. Even Claudia had managed to find some time in her busy schedule for me. My poor Claudia had suffered a tragedy soon after the rebellion just when everything was starting to settle down. She had suggested to Chris that she might turn him but he had said he needed time to consider the idea. Sadly, before he could make his decision it was taken out of his hands when he drove home one night and was involved in a car accident. He was hit by a drunk driver and his car crushed against a brick wall. He had been killed instantly.

Claudia was inconsolable and had flung herself into her work for the Authority, accompanying Lily on visits to outposts of the Authority all over the world until a few years ago she met a handsome young frenchman in Paris who fell head over heels in love with her and begged her to turn him so that he could be with her for eternity. She confided in me that she had given in to his pleas and would turn him soon, but in the meantime she was refusing to let him have her car keys!

His brother's tragic death had caused Dan to consider his own mortality and he asked Azaria to turn him. She came to me for advice and I advised against it. I felt that it was too soon, he was suffering after Chris's death and might regret his decision later. When Azaria refused him they had a big fight and he stormed out swearing that she had never really loved him and that he never wanted to see her again. Azaria blamed me for this rift and, despite Alex's pleas she packed her bags and left. Then two nights later Dan turned up at the Mill House, full of apologies. 

Fortunately she had taken her phone and, after one or two attempts, she answered Alex's call. After profuse apologies on both sides she and Dan made up and a year later, when he still felt the same way, Azaria turned him. They had both been at the party but had now left for the house in Oxford I had bought them as a gift.

The children had all been taken home to bed long ago. Ed's two sons Sam and Thomas grew up and had children and grandchildren of their own that they brought to the Mill House to visit “Uncle Bill and Auntie Alex” and somehow this habit began to spread. The Authority no longer really needed daytime security guards these days but they kept them for ceremonial purposes and it gradually became a tradition for them to bring their children to the Mill House at the weekends to play in the gardens and the orchard. They would splash about in the Millpond and paddle their canoes in the river. They chased each other through the trees and ran about the meadow where our small herd of horses grazed, all decendants of my old stud stallion, Oberon and his beloved mare, Titania. 

A few surprise guests had turned up. Lilith I was expecting but Sobek was a surprise. He had revealed himself to the rest of the Cairo nest after Rahotep's favourable reception and both he and Bast were now frequent visitors to the Egyptians. The vampires had accepted them far more readily than the humans since they were, in general, much older and far more open to alternative religions. He was accompanied by Artemis who had developed quite a following amongst younger Greek girls who wanted to break away from the paternalistic attitude of their church.

Then late in the evening, a final guest had arrived. He had ignored the other guests and walked onto the terrace to sit down beside me, his long grey cloak curling around his feet on the flagstones. He turned to me, the scar running through his missing eye twisting as he smiled.

“And what do you see Father Odin?” I asked quietly.

“You of all folk should know that the future is not set in stone. But for now......I see nothing but peace for you and your kind” he replied. “You and your friends changed the fate of this world. I wish you a long and happy.......existence.”

He got up and bowed to me, then turned and walked away into the orchard. I watched him until he disappeared amongst the trees and then headed back into the house.

I walked into the kitchen and saw, on the ancient oak table, the magnificent crystal decanter that Alex had given me for my birthday. It looked like one of the antiques that I loved, as they reminded me of my human life, but it had a cleverly disguised heating element embedded within the crystal which kept the synthetic blood at the just the right temperature. However the most noticeable thing about it now was the crimson ribbon tied around it. The ribbon trailed across the table and down onto the kitchen floor.

It reminded me of our binding ribbon which I had kept, rolled up and hidden in a drawer in my dresser for a century until it had finally dissolved into dust. I untied it from the decanter and followed it across the kitchen floor, rolling it up tidily as I went. It led me to the cellar door and down the stairs to our rooms. I smiled to myself as I followed it into our bedroom. Sure enough, Alex was lying on our new Queen sized bed, stark naked with the ribbon wrapped around her. The room was lit by half a dozen scented candles and in the low light the ribbon might have been a trail of blood across her ivory pale skin. Her black hair lay strewn across the pillow in a dark cloud and she gazed up at me with her bright grey eyes, her lips pressed into a little pout.

“Well......it is your birthday. Aren't you going to unwrap your present?”

I felt a warm surge of love flow from her through the bond. The blood bond which had been enhanced so much over the years that now each of us could almost tell what the other was thinking. I could certainly tell what she was thinking right now! I climbed up onto the bed and began to unwind the ribbon from her tiny pale foot, kissing it gently as I unwound the ribbon from around her ankle and worked my way up her leg. I followed the ribbon up her thigh to where it was draped over her mound and allowed my tongue to slide into her folds for just a moment, feeling her shiver at my touch, then continued across her stomach and upward to where the ribbon was wrapped around a breast. 

I dropped the ribbon and pulled my shirt off over my head, lowering my head to take the nipple in my mouth and suckle on it.

She gave a soft moan. “Hmm......not tired of me yet then? Even after all this time?” she whispered.

“I could never tire of you my love” I murmured, indistinctly, my mouth full. “Every time I touch you......it's like the very first time. Whenever I hold you in my arms, whenever we make love, you take me to a place far, far away from all the pain and sorrow of this world. A place where there is only happiness and pleasure.”

She reached up and put one arm around my neck, pulling me down onto her while the other hand worked open the button and the zipper on my pants. I leaned down to fasten my mouth on hers, the ribbon falling, forgotten, and coiling up on the quilt beside her.

“Take me there Bill” she murmured. “Take me to that special place......”

I pulled her into my arms and, as always, I did my very best to oblige her.......

 

****** THE END *****


End file.
